


𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊 » 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦

by royaltyz



Series: FreeFall [1]
Category: On My Block (TV)
Genre: Freeridge, Gangs, Violence, hood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 49,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/royaltyz/pseuds/royaltyz
Summary: ❝ In Squad We Trust ❞Monse Finnie is the new girl in Freeridge. She hopes to start senior year off without a hitch, but she soon realizes that won't be the case.
Relationships: Cesar Diaz/Monse Finnie, Monse Finnie/Latrelle
Series: FreeFall [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940191
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12





	1. INTRO | CAST

**「** **_On My Block_ ** **_»_ ** **_Fractured Love_ ** ******」**

  
❝ **_Welcome to MY block_** ❞

_in which a girl finds herself_   
_caught in the middle of a war_   
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
╔════════☩══♛══☩════════╗

❝ **_Make new friends but keep the old;_**

 ** _Those are silver, these are gold_** ** _._** ❞

╚════════☩══✦══☩═══════╝  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


∘ ───♡༉─── ∘  
  
  
  


˗ˏˋ **_cast_** **_!_** ˎˊ˗   
  
  
  
  


**Sierra Capri** as **Monse Finnie** ** _|_**  
 **The New Girl  
  
**

❝ _Who would've known this is how we would become friends?_ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Diego Tinoco** as **Cesar Diaz** ** _|_**  
 **The Santo  
  
**

❝ _I don't need my brother. I can handle my own shit._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Jason Genao** as **Ruby Martinez** ** _|_**  
 **The Hopeless Romantic  
  
**

❝ _You can never go wrong with honesty._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Brett Gray** as **Jamal Turner** ** _|_**  
 **The Matchmaker  
  
**

❝ _Bitches be bonkers._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Jessica Marie Garcia** as **Jasmine Flores |**  
 **The Diva  
  
**

❝ _You don't scare me. Never have, never will._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Cierra Ramirez** as **Isabella Ramirez** ** _|_**  
 **The It Girl  
  
**

❝ _I'm Ruby's number one fan._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Alisha Boe** as **Kayla Boe** ** _|_**  
 **The Best Friend  
  
**

❝ _I guess this is goodbye._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Julio Macias** as **Oscar Diaz** ** _|_**  
 **The Shot Caller  
  
**

❝ _She's looking like a fine ass hyna._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
 **  
  
Jahking Guillory** as **Latrelle** ** _|_**  
 **The Prophet  
  
**

❝ _Bullets are gonna start flying and we don't miss._ ❞  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
【 **other characters as themselves** 】


	2. EPIGRAPH

**WHEN WORST  
  
  
  
**

**  
  
COMES TO  
  
  
  
**

**  
  
WORST  
  
  
  
**

**  
  
SQUAD COMES FIRST  
  
  
  
**


	3. MONSE.

  
  
❝ _Don't you dare do anything stupid! That's Cesar Diaz we're talking about!_ ❞

"Monse," a voice called. "MONSE!"

Monse snapped out of her daydream and jumped up in her seat. She looked around and saw the whole class staring at her.

"What?" she asked with an attitude.

Her teacher crossed her arms angrily. "What?" she repeated. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

"I didn't do anything."

"You sure didn't. That's why we're having this conversation in the first place!" Monse's enemy Jasmine Flores stated, which caused Monse to roll her eyes.

Her teacher Mrs. Flores shook her head at Monse. "Pay attention. I don't want to have to fail you on your last couple of days here."

Monse's best friend Kayla Boe's ears perked up. "Wait, WHAT?!"

"Hallelujah," Jasmine muttered.

Monse sucked her teeth and sunk down into her chair, upset that her teacher blurted out her business.

_Gee thanks, Mrs. Flores._

Mrs. Flores resumed the lesson. Kayla, who was seated next to Monse, leaned over and whispered to her. "You want to explain what the hell she's talking about?"

"I will. Just not now," Monse whispered back.

"Then when?"

"After class," Monse promised.

At that exact moment, the bell rang. Monse huffed loudly.

_Just my luck!_

She shoved her books into her backpack. Jasmine walked up to her with her squad and purposely bumped into her. She then pretended to be sorry.

"Oh. _Oops."_ She laughed.

"Watch it," Monse hissed.

"Or what?"

Monse got in Jasmine's face. "I don't think you want to find out."

Jasmine just snickered. "You don't scare me. Never have, never will."

"The last thing I'm going to do before I move is beat your ass. It's on my bucket list," Monse declared with a huge smirk plastered on her face. Afterward, she took out a piece of paper and showed it to Jasmine. It had a list of things she wanted to do before leaving New York, and beating Jasmine's ass was one of them.

Jasmine and her squad gasped when they read the list. Jasmine scowled at Monse. "Whatever bitch!" Then she snapped her fingers. "Let's go ladies."

Monse snickered as they stormed off. She then grabbed her backpack and swung it over her shoulders and headed to her locker. When she got there, she saw Kayla standing there looking vexed.

"Hey..." Monse said awkwardly.

Kayla crossed her arms. "I'm waiting."

"Same, girl! I'm waiting to get this food inside of my belly!" She rubbed her belly. "Let's go to lunch!"

Monse quickly turned on her heels and tried walking off, but Kayla wasn't having that. She grabbed Monse's backpack straps and pulled her back. "Nice try, but I'm pretty sure lunch ended hours ago."

"Oooh, _right_."

Monse rubbed her neck sheepishly. She noticed Kayla was staring at her with a straight face, waiting for her to spill everything.

Monse sighed. There was no getting out of this one. She might as well come clean.

"Okay look," she started. "I'm moving to Freeridge."

"Freeridge? Where the hell is that?"

"Cali."

Kayla's jaw dropped. "WHAT?! You're moving to the other side of the country?!"

Kayla was talking so loud that other students in the hall started to look annoyed with them.

"Keep it down!" Monse hissed.

"No, I won't keep it down! You are moving and you weren't going to tell me!" Kayla argued.

"I was."

"When?"

Monse shrugged. "When the time was right."

Kayla let out a deep sigh. It was bad enough that her best friend since forever was moving, but the fact that Monse didn't tell her sooner kind of irked her.

Well, there was nothing that she could do about it now. All they could do was spend the rest of Monse's days in NY with each other.

"So when are you moving?"

"Thursday...." Monse hesitantly answered.

"THIS THURSDAY?!" Kayla shouted. "That's in two days, Monse!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I should've told you earlier. I was just....scared," Monse admitted.

Kayla was officially devastated. "Why do you even have to go? Senior year just started!"

"My dad has an awesome job opportunity over there. He can't reject it," Monse answered.

"Well, tell him you can stay with me," Kayla offered.

"Yeeeah, I tried that. Didn't work."

Kayla looked down at her shoes, not wanting Monse to see the tears that were in her eyes, but Monse noticed and comforted her. "Don't cry."

Kayla sniffled. "I can't believe my bestie since forever is leaving me. We had plans for senior year."

"I know. I know," Monse said sadly. She held Kayla as they began walking out of the school. "I'll make it up to you."

Kayla glanced over at her. "How?"

"McDonald's?" Monse offered.

Kayla pushed her playfully and chuckled. "Deal."

Then they left the school.  
  
  


『••✎••』  
  
  


Meanwhile in Freeridge California, school was still in session. Ruby Martinez and Jamal Turner were at Ruby's locker.

"Damn, school just started and Mr. Payne is already giving us essays," Ruby stated, irritation evident in his tone.

"Oh he _trippin,_ trippin," Jamal joked.

Ruby gave him a mean side glare. "It's not funny. All of this stress is going to give me breakouts! I've been de-stressing myself all summer and I'll be damned if that old man ruins my hard work and dedication!"

He slammed his locker and turned his body towards Jamal. "Do you even know what it's like to have breakouts?"

Jamal scrunched his nose up in disgust. No he did not know, and he never wanted to. "Don't wanna know."

"You sure don't," Ruby affirmed before turning around to scan the halls. He looked down the hall and spotted his crush Isabella at her locker putting on lip gloss.

Jamal and Ruby both observed her. She finished putting on her lip gloss and then proceeded to take off her sweater, revealing her pink crop top to the world. And to no surprise, she was also sporting a brand new belly ring.

Hey, if she was going to show off her belly she had to make sure it looked nice!

Afterward, she flipped her hair carelessly and all Jamal and Ruby could utter was a ' _damn_.'

Ruby instantly hit Jamal's arm. Jamal let out a quick yelp and held his arm. "OW?"

"Back off! I called dibs!" Ruby told him.

Jamal crossed his arms and looked at Isabella once more. "Go spit game then."

Ruby also looked at his crush once more and gulped. "I don't know man..."

"Do it. You only miss the shots you don't take," Jamal warned.

Ruby nodded his head. "You're right. I'm not the same loser I was last year."

He fixed himself up and then stuck his arms out as he looked at Jamal. "How do I look?"

"Short."

Ruby rolled his eyes at that comment.

"What about me?" Jamal asked in return.

Ruby examined him carefully. He knew Jamal didn't look better than him, that was for sure. "I don't think you want me to answer that...."

Jamal's jaw dropped. He was completely offended. "Wow, that hurt."

However, Ruby didn't pay him any mind. He was too busy staring at Isabella and to his shock, she was staring back. Ruby's heart skipped a beat.

"Look, she's looking at me!" he exclaimed before winking at Isabella. She winked back.

Ruby damn near fainted. Jamal had to catch him. He helped Ruby stand upright and rolled his eyes. "If you don't stop fangirling and go over there!"

Ruby fixed his clothes and took a deep breath. Then he began walking towards her until something stopped him dead in his tracks.

Cesar Diaz—one of the hottest guys of their year, walked up to Isabella and began flirting with her. And the messed up part was that she was flirting back.

Jamal furrowed his brows at their encounter. He glanced at Ruby and noticed Ruby was fuming. He rushed up to him and grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go."

Ruby escaped his grasp and stared murderously at Cesar. "NO! I'm tired of him and his self-entitled ass!"

"So what the hell are you about to do?"

"Oh you'll see," is all Ruby said before he stormed up to Cesar.

Jamal quickly stopped him. "Don't you dare do anything stupid! That's Cesar Diaz we're talking about!"

"I don't care WHO he is! He's not stealing my girl!" Ruby shouted. He then stormed up to Cesar with his short little legs and cleared his throat. "Ahem."

Cesar focused his attention away from Isabella and onto Ruby. "May I help you?"

"Do you know who I am?" Ruby asked.

"Oh...Ruby is it?" Isabella answered.

Ruby grinned. "Y-Yes it is."

Cesar crossed his arms. "And I care why?"

"How about we talk about this privately like _real men_?" Ruby proposed.

"Or we can talk about it right now in front of everyone."

Cesar smirked and pointed down the hall. Everyone was staring at them in anticipation. They wanted a fight and they were about to get one.

Ruby's body tensed up at all the prying eyes. No way could he run away from this now. "Um..o-ok t-then."

"SO START TALKING!" a random boy demanded.

"YEAH! I want to see a fight!" another boy agreed.

Cesar smirked at a terrified Ruby. "You hear that? The people want a fight. Let's give them one."

He put his fist up to punch Ruby. However, Jamal was not about to let his best friend get hurt, so he got in between them and took the punch. Cesar socked him in the face, causing him to collapse on the floor.

"BOOOOOOOO!" the students roared in disapproval.

Ruby's eyes shot wide open when he realized what happened. "Oh no..." He quickly bent down next to Jamal. "Oh my god. JAMAL! Are you okay?!?!"

Suddenly, the principal appeared. "What on earth is going on here?! Everyone get to class! NOW!"

All the students quickly ran away. Cesar tried to hide among the crowd but failed.

"I see you, Diaz. My office. _Now,_ " the principal ordered. Cesar huffed and went to the principal's office.

Ruby snickered at Cesar. "That's what he gets." Then he faced Jamal. "Are you okay?"

Jamal glared at him. "The shit I do for you man...."


	4. CESAR.

  
  
❝ _People talk about them a lot. And not in a good way._ ❞

  
  


Cesar walked inside of the Principal's office and sat in his usual seat. He was certainly no stranger to the principal's scoldings. "I've been here about five times already. Let's hurry this up."

The Principal paced around. "And you're proud of that? School started yesterday."

Cesar shrugged. "I do what I have to do."

"Like punching innocent boys in the halls?"

"I was supposed to hit the short one," Cesar said with a roll of his eyes.

The Principal shook his head. "You have been nothing but a nuisance at this school. Do you need to be transferred?"

"Na, I'm good."

"Then get your act together or you will be spending the rest of your senior year at a different school. _Or Juvie,_ " he warned.

Cesar just faked a yawn, having not a care in the world. "Can I go now?"

The Principal motioned for Cesar to leave. Cesar grabbed his bag and left the office. He went to his locker to check his schedule. He was late for English.

 _Great_.

He got his books and when he slammed his locker, he saw Isabella standing next to him. He jumped a little.

"Oh, hey."

Isabella giggled while clutching her bag. "Sorry for scaring you."

"Na, it's good."

She smiled slyly. "I just wanted to say that I'm impressed with your right hook."

Cesar arched a brow. "Oh really? But I didn't even hit the right guy."

"True. Poor Jamal..."

"Jamal?" Cesar repeated.

"That's his name. Jamal Turner," Isabella informed him.

"Oh..." Cesar paused and turned his body to her. "You seem to know a lot about them."

Isabella shrugged. "People talk about them a lot. And not in a good way."

Cesar scoffed. "I can imagine. That short one is crazy."

"Ruby."

"Yeah, him. I still don't know what he wanted," Cesar said.

"He wants me," Isabella told him.

Cesar furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

"He's crushing on me, I can totally tell. He was probably jealous that you were talking to me."

Cesar laughed at the thought. Ruby and Isabella? Psh, not a chance.

"You're out of his league."

"I know right!" Isabella flipped her hair once more and then shrugged. "But I'll have a little fun with him."

Cesar smirked. "Oh, you're _evil_ evil."

"You like that?" she asked in a flirty tone.

Cesar was getting ready to respond, but his angry English teacher ruined their moment. She stood in her doorway and glared at him. "Cesar Diaz, don't you belong in my classroom?"

Cesar rolled his eyes inwardly and huffed. "I'm coming."

"NOW, Cesar!" she ordered before she disappeared back into the classroom.

Cesar sucked his teeth and faced Isabella. "I guess I'll see you around."

Isabella smiled. "You sure will."

Cesar watched her walk away until she was no longer in sight.

Isabella was absolutely stunning, there was no denying that. He had to force himself not to drool. The only thought on his mind was _damn_.

Then he went to English.  
  


  
『••✎••』  
  
  


Later that day, Monse and Kayla were walking home from McDonald's. They spent two hours there and they were absolutely stuffed.

Kayla groaned. Her stomach felt like it was going to explode. "Did we really just spend two hours at McDonald's? Worst idea ever."

"I'm stuffed dude," Monse replied while rubbing her belly.

"Well, let's just consider it a goodbye feast," Kayla said with a gloomy sigh. Monse just glared at her. "What?"

"Don't make this depressing," Monse pleaded.

"I'm not. But we can't pretend that it's not happening."

"We don't have to talk about it every ten minutes either!" Monse snapped.

Kayla was taken aback by her sudden anger. She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever."

Monse sighed. _Okay, maybe that was a little too harsh._

"Look, I'm sorry if that came off as rude. I'm just as sad about this as you are."

Kayla scoffed. She didn't believe that for one second. "Yeah right. You're probably happy that you don't have to deal with Jasmine anymore."

Monse laughed and nodded her head. "Okay, yeah. That's the only upside to this."

They both laughed and then realized they had arrived at Monse's house. Their smiles instantly turned upside down.

"Well, here we are....." Kayla said sadly.

"Look, I'll try to talk to my dad one more time," Monse told her.

"About what? His mind's made up," Kayla questioned.

"About staying with you instead."

Kayla looked uncertain. "You think it'll work?"

"No...but it's worth a try right?"

Kayla nodded with a smile. "Always."

They hugged each other tight, never wanting to let go, but they knew they had to. Monse broke the hug. "I'll call you and let you know what he says."

Kayla gave her a tiny nod of farewell and then began walking home. Monse sighed and opened her front door.

She stepped inside and looked around. All of the lights were suspiciously off. "Dad?" she called out. No answer. "Uhh, dad?!?!"

"In the kitchen, honey!" she heard her father Monty shout.

She struggled to make it to the kitchen because there was furniture all over the place. When she finally did, she said, "Hey. Why are all the lights off?"

"Just conserving energy, honey. How was school?"

Monse huffed and plopped down in a chair. "It was like every other day this week."

"Is that bad?" Monty asked.

"Well, Jasmine's still a pain in the ass."

 _"Language,_ " her dad scolded calmly.

 _"Butt,_ " she quickly corrected. "And every day that passes it gets harder to focus."

"Well honey, that's normal," Monty assured her. "Just do it for one more day, okay?"

Monse sighed. "And then what? I have to deal with it all over again at my new school?"

"No honey, I assure you that your new school will be much better."

Monse crossed her arms with a doubtful look. "How do you know?"

"Because you deserve nothing but the best," her dad said with a smile.

"You do realize I'd be leaving Kayla behind, right? We've been friends since 9th grade!"

"You can make new friends like you've done many times before," Monty responded.

Monse stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "WELL MAYBE I'M TIRED OF DOING IT!"

Monty looked at her with wide eyes. Who did she think she was talking to? "Watch that tone!"

Monse let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed her forehead. "Look, maybe I can stay with Kayla until-"

Monty quickly cut her off. "No."

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"I've heard this before. You are not staying across the country by yourself."

"I won't be by myself."

Monty wasn't budging. "The answer is no. You and I are starting fresh in Freeridge."

"But—"

"ENOUGH! You are not staying here, end of discussion!" he yelled. Then he stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Monse feeling vexed.

She rolled her eyes and took out her cellphone and called Kayla. She answered almost immediately.

"Hello?" Kayla answered.

"Hey..." Monse said slowly.

"Well? How'd it go?!" Kayla asked urgently.

"Yeah...um...." Monse started. She looked out of the kitchen to make sure her dad wasn't around. Then she finished her thought. "We may need a new plan."


	5. THE SANTOS WAY.

  
  
❝ _We're taking down Cesar. Once and for all._ ❞

  
  
  
  


Freeridge, California—a neighborhood ruled by two gangs: The Santos and the Prophets. Unfortunately for Cesar, he was affiliated with the Santos. He wasn't one, but his brother Oscar aka Spooky was.

Thinking about the gang life caused Cesar to shake his head as he walked home from school.

_How did our lives get so messed up?_

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He looked at the text.

 **ISABELLA :** Can't wait to see you tomorrow.

Cesar smirked as he read the text. Isabella was _hot_.

They exchanged numbers after school and guess who stared at them the whole time? That's right, Ruby.

Ruby's face turned red when Cesar kissed Isabella on the forehead just to piss him off. Then Cesar walked past Ruby and whispered, "Game on."

Cesar began laughing out loud at the mere thought. _What a dumb ass._

He decided to text Isabella back.

 **CESAR :** For sure.

 **ISABELLA :** For sure? That's all you're gonna say?

Cesar left her on read. He couldn't appear too eager. She needed to chase _him_. That was the Santos way after all, according to Spooky at least.

When he got to his house, he opened the door and called out for his brother. "Oscar?!"

"Aye, little bro." Spooky emerged from his bedroom with a chick. "You got my beer?"

Cesar threw the can at Spooky. Spooky caught it. "Good looks."

"Who's this fine specimen?" the chick flirted at Cesar.

Spooky glared at her. "He's my little brother. And don't call him a fine specimen again."

The chick swallowed hard and tensed up. "Sorry, papi."

Cesar couldn't even resist his urge to gag. _Papi?_

"I think I'm gonna be sick...."

Spooky sat on the couch and opened his beer. "Leave."

"Gladly!" Cesar was getting ready to head out the door, but his brother's voice stopped him.

"Not you, fool. Her."

The chick gasped while she pointed at herself. "Me? Why? I said I'm sorry!"

"And I said leave," Spooky repeated sternly. He looked at her slowly but angrily. " _Now_."

She huffed and quickly grabbed her stuff and left, not before making sure to slam the door _loudly_.

Cesar narrowed his eyes at the now closed door and then at his brother. "Um, who is she?"

"Sit," Spooky ordered. Cesar obeyed and sat next to his brother. "She's just a chick," he continued.

"That's what you said about the other five chicks this week," Cesar pointed out.

"YOU TRYNA TELL ME HOW TO LIVE MY LIFE?!"

Cesar jumped at his brother's tone. Oscar was the one person that he knew not to anger. "No, I was just saying—"

"Don't say anything! Shit can get out of context real fast. I thought I taught you that?"

"You did."

Spooky continued to drink his beer. He put the can down and stayed silent for a while. "Look, she's different than those other five girls this week."

"How?"

Spooky chuckled to himself. "I actually like her."

Cesar looked at his brother in disbelief. "I didn't know you were capable of catching feelings."

"Very funny," Spooky said sarcastically.

"No, seriously. Weren't you the one that said they had to chase US?" Cesar recalled.

"Trust me, she's been chasing for a while. But enough about me, what about you? You got these girls chasing you?" Spooky asked.

Cesar looked at his phone. "There's this one girl at school. Isabella."

"She hot?" Spooky asked.

"Yeah and I think she likes me," Cesar answered. He showed Spooky the texts.

"Oh shit, you left her on read!" Spooky clapped and laughed. "That's a whole new level of savage!"

"It's not that new....." Cesar said awkwardly. Spooky quickly stopped laughing. "Sorry to burst your bubble."

Then Cesar's phone began vibrating nonstop. Isabella was blowing him up. Oscar read the texts as fast as he could. "Damn, she's blowing you up. When did you meet this girl?"

"Yesterday."

"And she's this sprung?"

Cesar shrugged. "What can I say, you taught me well."

Spooky smirked as he read the incoming texts. "Yeah this is good. Real good."

Cesar furrowed his eyebrows. "Why is this good? It's rude if anything."

"So why did you do it?"

"Because you taught me to," Cesar answered.

"Exactly. And I'm going to teach you a lot more things. You'll thank me later," Spooky told him. He stood up and tossed Cesar's phone on the couch. "But it's up to you if you want to listen to me."

Cesar stood up too. "Of course I would. I'm not stupid."

"Good. First things first, tell your friends at school that you're throwing a party here on Friday."

"A party, why?"

"We're looking for recruitments," Spooky announced, throwing away the beer.

Cesar's ears perked up. "For what?" Then the realization hit him. "The Santos?" Spooky nodded. Cesar quickly shook his head. "What? No, you can't do that!"

"And why the hell not?!"

"We're gonna look weak!" Cesar warned.

" _We're?_ I didn't know you were one of us."

"I'm affiliated. So I technically am."

Spooky nodded. "It's good to know what side you're on. But desperate times call for desperate measures." He began walking away but Cesar's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"What desperate times?! We're flourishing!"

Spooky swiveled around angrily. "WE'RE NOT, CESAR!"

Cesar froze and stared at his brother with wide eyes. "What?"

Spooky sighed and stepped forward. "The Prophets are getting larger every day. We need more people."

"So you want sixteen and seventeen-year-olds?" Cesar scoffed. "Unbelievable."

Spooky got in Cesar's face. "Do as I say and don't talk back to me. Did you forget who I am?"

Cesar rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll do it."

"Good. And make sure those two boys you got into it with today are there," Spooky added.

"Wait, you know about that?"

"I know everything little bro. Oh, and make sure you don't text Isabella back."

Cesar chuckled at that demand. "You're cold hearted."

Spooky smirked at him. "It's wrong but it feels so right, doesn't it?"

And then he walked off to his bedroom. Cesar stood in place and gulped. It sure did.  
  
  


『••✎••』  
  
  


"Look, I'm really sorry Jamal," Ruby apologized for the hundredth time. They were sitting in his living room.

"Ruby, if I hear you say those words one more time, you're gonna end up with a busted lip too," Jamal threatened.

Ruby swallowed hard and touched Jamal's lip. Jamal hit his hand. "Don't touch it!"

"Does it hurt?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"Do you want to find out?" Jamal retorted.

"Not really..."

"Then shut up."

"Look, to be fair, I didn't tell you to protect me," Ruby pointed out.

"But I did anyway. Can I get a 'thank you, Jamal?"

"Thank you, I appreciate you. I won't let him touch you again," Ruby promised.

Jamal shrugged. "That's generous and all, but I'm pretty sure next time he won't miss."

That comment made shivers go down Ruby's spine. Was Cesar going to search for him tomorrow at school just to finish what he started? He sure hoped not.

Suddenly, they heard someone opening the door. Ruby panicked. "Shit! My mom's here! Hide your lip!"

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?!"

"With your other lip, duh!" Ruby answered.

Jamal rolled his eyes as Ruby's mother Geny's voice rang out through the house. "RUBEN! Where are you?!"

"On the couch, ma!"

His mother walked into the room, completely livid. "So are you going to tell me why your principal is calling me telling me you got into a fight?!"

"What? I didn't fight," Ruby told her. He showed her his face and then lifted his shirt to show his skin. "See, I have no bruises."

Jamal rolled his eyes again. Geny looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you sucking your lip?"

"Oh, sorry. I was told to hide my busted lip with my other lip. Whatever that means," Jamal replied.

Geny looked appalled. "Busted lip?!? YOU were the one fighting?!"

Jamal tilted his head. "Technically, I saved Ruby's life. The punch was supposed to hit him."

Ruby facepalmed and then glared at Jamal while speaking through gritted teeth. " _You are the worst_."

Jamal smiled smugly. "You are welcome."

Geny couldn't believe her ears. "Jamal, can I talk to my son in private?"

Jamal quickly left the room and Ruby sighed before addressing his mother. "Look ma, before you say anything—"

"No! You're going to listen to ME for once! You told me senior year was going to be different!"

"It is different!"

Geny scoffed. "Yeah, obviously. You're getting into fights now!"

Ruby huffed. "I'm not fighting anyone. It was just a stupid misunderstanding."

"Who was it?"

"Ma, that doesn't matter. It won't happen again. I promise."

"Tell me, boy!" she demanded.

Ruby huffed again and put his hands in his pockets. He made sure to avoid eye contact before answering. "Cesar."

Geny's eyes widened in shock. "EXCUSE ME? Cesar Diaz, the Santos boy?!" She started pacing around frantically. "Oh no no no no no no, you are switching schools!"

Ruby was confused. "What? How do you know him?"

"Everyone knows that he and his brother are nothing but trouble! They're gang leaders for fuck sake!"

"Well _technically_ Cesar isn't in the gang," Ruby corrected.

She looked at him furiously. "You just made enemies with a Santo and you think it's funny?"

Ruby threw his hands up angrily. "What am I supposed to do?! Just kiss his ass?!"

"That's EXACTLY what you do, just like everyone else!"

Ruby shook his head no. "Not happening." He began walking off to his room but his mother followed him.

"Excuse me? You don't have a choice!"

Ruby swiveled around. "Everyone fears Cesar? Well he's going to fear ME!" he promised. He then walked into his room.

His mother looked horrified. "RUBY! Get back here!"

But Ruby slammed his bedroom door, not wanting to hear her mouth anymore.

Meanwhile, Jamal was sitting on the bed smirking at Ruby. "Uh oh. Someone's in trouble."

Ruby smirked back. "Not at all."

Jamal's smirk quickly faded. It was never a good sign when Ruby had a mischievous smirk on his face. "Why are you smirking? Aren't you supposed to be throwing a tantrum right about now?"

Ruby leaned against the door and crossed his arms. He fixated on his window and let out a relieved breath. "Our lives are about to change, Jamal."

"How?"

"We're taking down Cesar," Ruby looked at Jamal slowly. "Once and for all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ruby's a little badass 🤣🤣🤣🤣


	6. VALEDICTORIAN.

❝ _You know second-hand smoke is just as bad, right?_ ❞

It was now Wednesday morning, seven am. Monse's alarm clock went off, eliciting a groan out of her. She rolled over groggily to hit the stupid clock. "Shut up already!"

Her dad walked into the room after hearing her shout. "Who are you talking to in here?"

"Nobody dad," she said before getting out of bed.

Monty crossed his arms over his chest. "It sounded like somebody."

"It was NOBODY!" she shouted.

Monty was sick of her bad behavior at this point. "You're going to watch your tone, young lady! I'm done with the attitude! Hurry up and get ready for school!"

Then he slammed the door behind him.

" **UGHHHH**!" Monse bellowed in frustration. She was so tired of her father at this point.

Regardless, she quickly got ready for school and then headed downstairs for breakfast. When she got to the kitchen, she was getting ready to eat some cereal until her dad stopped her. He was sitting at the table looking at her angrily.

"So first you act like a fool, now you're acting ungrateful?"

She turned around slowly, trying to control her temper. "How am I being ungrateful, daddy? Huh?"

"So you're going to act like you don't see this beautiful breakfast I made for us?"

Monse glanced at the stove and saw some freshly made pancakes and eggs just waiting to be devoured. She then looked at her dad and did a half shrug. "Can't see it, sorry." Then she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" her father questioned, but she kept walking until her feet were out the door. She stood outside her house and let out a sigh of relief.

_Finally some fresh air._

She looked at her phone to check the time. She still had thirty minutes before she had to go to school. She could go right now but who goes to school early? So she decided to text Kayla.

**MONSE :** Hey, where are you?

**KAYLA :** Um, in my bed?

**MONSE :** Why are you still in bed?

**KAYLA :** Girl you know it takes me forever to get ready.

**MONSE :** Exactly. That's why you should get out of bed.

**KAYLA :** Gotcha.

**MONSE :** Are you out of bed?

**KAYLA :** Nope.

Monse sucked her teeth and began walking. Where to? She had no idea, but she kept walking until her feet led her to the park.

She looked around and saw that no one was there except for a group of boys. She rolled her eyes.

_I dare them to fuck with me today_.

Then she sat on a bench and noticed the boys were staring at her nonstop. She checked the time once more. She had twenty minutes left.

She glanced at the boys and they were still staring at her, gossiping.

_You know what!_

She strode towards them and they quickly fell silent.

"May we help you, shorty?" one of them asked.

"No, I think the question is may I help YOU?" Monse retorted.

"We don't even know you," another boy said.

"But yet you're staring at me like you've never seen a girl before," Monse responded.

All they did was laugh at her. Monse quickly got offended. She crossed her arms angrily. "Is something funny?"

"We get it, you're feeling yourself shorty," one of them commented.

"You must not have a lot of boys looking your way," another sneered. They laughed at her once more and walked off.

Monse stomped her foot, completely ticked off. First her father was giving her trouble, now some random boys? She officially hated males.

She turned on her heel and made her way to school. Looks like she was going early after all.  
  


『••✎••』  
  


It was now eight am and Monse was standing on the school steps still waiting for Kayla.

**MONSE :** Can you please hurry up?

**KAYLA :** Almost there.

Monse tapped her foot impatiently and looked around. Students were already heading inside. She usually didn't like being late to class because of all the unnecessary attention, but with the way her day had been going...she didn't give a fuck.

When she looked in front of herself, she saw the boys from the park. They smirked at her and walked inside.

_They go to this school?_ She facepalmed. _Just my luck!_

"What's wrong with you?" Kayla asked, appearing out of nowhere.

Monse jumped a little. "About time!" She hugged her tight.

"I said I was almost here."

"Can we go inside please?" Monse begged.

Kayla nodded and they headed to their lockers. They got their books for their first class.

"So you wanna tell me why you were facepalming yourself?" Kayla asked again.

Monse huffed. "My morning has been so shitty."

"What happened?"

"Well, let's see. First my dad is being a complete dick. He's not trying to hear me out at all," Monse told her.

Kayla frowned. "I wish he would just let you stay."

"I do too."

"Wait, didn't you say we need a new plan?" Kayla recalled.

Monse nodded. "We have to do something. I'm literally leaving tomorrow."

"What if I talk to him?" Kayla suggested.

Monse laughed at that plan. No way was that going to work. "You think that'll work?"

"Or maybe I can get my mom to talk to him today."

"And say what?"

Kayla shrugged. "I'll just try to get her to convince him to let you stay with us."

"She'll be okay with that?"

"Of course she would, she loves you," Kayla assured her. "Just bring your dad to my house after school."

"Deal," Monse said with a grin.

They started walking to class, but some boys started whistling at them from across the hall.

"Hey again shorty," one of them spoke, smirking.

Monse looked at them and noticed that they were the same boys from the park. She quickly grabbed Kayla's arm and dragged her to class.

Kayla was completely puzzled. "What is going on? Who were they?" she wondered, trying to keep up with Monse.

"Don't talk, just walk!”

When they got to class, they took their seats next to each other. Kayla was still waiting for her answer. "Helllooo, earth to Monse?"

"Those boys are trouble," Monse finally said.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, but I saw them at the park this morning and now I can't unsee them apparently," Monse answered before putting her head down.

"Well, at least after today you won't have to see them again," Kayla told her.

Monse picked her head up and frowned at her. "Don't say that. We have a plan remember?" She put her head down again.

Then her teacher walked in. "Good morning class. Head up, Monse."

Monse sucked her teeth and put her head up.

Jasmine snickered at Monse. "Yeah, head up Monse."

"Shut the hell up!" Monse snapped.

"Language, Finnie!" her teacher scolded.

"She's a mess," one of Jasmine's followers whispered. Jasmine's posse snickered at a fuming Monse.

Kayla noticed how furious Monse was. Her whole face was flushed red. She leaned over and grabbed Monse's arm. "Just chill."

Monse let out a deep breath and focused on her work.  
  


  
『••✎••』  
  


Halfway through the class, the principal got on the loudspeaker. "Monse Finnie, report to the principal's office immediately."

Monse looked at Kayla confused. Kayla simply shrugged. The whole class ooo'hed as if she was in trouble.

She wasn't in trouble... _right_?

_Or maybe I am? Oh god!_

Monse began freaking out.

"The principal is a very busy lady, Monse. Don't keep her waiting," her teacher warned.

Monse got up slowly and grabbed her stuff. She headed to the principal's office. When she got there, she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Monse walked in and saw her principal sitting in her chair. The principal grinned at her presence. "There you are! Have a seat."

She took a seat and gulped. "Why am I here?"

"Well, Finnie. Today is the last day you will be attending our school."

"So? Everyone knows that."

"I was just reflecting on it. You have always been such a good student, it's a shame to see you go. You were more than likely going to be valedictorian," her principal informed her.

Monse's jaw dropped. "Wait, did I hear you right? Did you just say—"

Her principal chuckled. "Valedictorian, yes."

Monse leaned back in her chair with a dropped jaw. She had a good chance of being valedictorian? But she was leaving...

"But if I leave, who will take my place?"

"More than likely Jasmine. She's a smart girl, don't you agree?"

Monse's insides were screaming. _JASMINE? WHY JASMINE!?_

However, she faked a smile, trying to hide her disgust. _"Totally."_

Her principal smiled back. "But you're a smart girl. No matter where you go, they will be lucky to have you."

"Thank you, but I'm confused. Did you really have to drag me out of class to tell me this?"

"There's more to it..." her principal started. "You see, there's a problem. I don't think all your credits will be transferred over."

Monse furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"You might have to repeat some classes. Which may mean...you might not graduate on time."

"WHAT?!" Monse exclaimed. "I'm not repeating classes! You have to fix this!"

Her principal frowned at her and shrugged. "I'm sorry, but it's out of my control."

Monse had ENOUGH. This was the shittiest day ever!

She stormed out of the office, ignoring her principal calling after her. She walked and walked until she ended up at the furthest staircase. She sat down on the steps and began crying out of anger. Everything was going wrong today! Why?!

She took out her phone and texted the one person who could make her feel better. Kayla.

She texted Kayla telling her to meet her at the staircase asap. She couldn't deal with this alone.

**KAYLA :** On my way.

Monse put her face in her hands and thought about all of her recent misfortunes. Moments later, she felt a presence behind her.

"Kayla?" she asked while turning around.

"Na shorty. It's me... _again_ ," the boy said.

One of the boys from the park.

Monse sprung up. "What the fuck do you want already?! Nobody even comes to this staircase!"

"You don't either."

"How would you know?"

"Cause I always come here," he replied. He sat down on the steps and began smoking a cigarette.

Monse covered her nose and looked at him in disgust. "You know second-hand smoke is just as bad, right?"

He shrugged. "Didn't know."

She rolled her eyes. "Look, what do you want? I've never seen you a day in my life and now I see you everywhere."

The boy looked up at her. "I don't want anything from you."

"So why do you keep stalking me?"

He laughed and stood back up. "I'm not stalking you, but it's a shame."

Monse stared at him suspiciously. "What is?"

"The fact that we didn't meet sooner, 'cause I hear today's your last day."

Monse looked alarmed. "Who told you that?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

Monse was confused. _"Kiss?"_

"It's an idiom shorty."

Monse stomped her foot angrily. "I'm not your shorty!"

"That's also a shame," he said before walking down the stairs.

"WAIT! What's your name?"

"Doesn't matter. We won't be seeing each other again, right?" And then he walked down the steps and out of her sight.

Monse watched him until he was no longer in sight. He was probably right about that. They had a plan to talk some sense into her dad, but she had a feeling it wasn't going to work. Not with how stubborn he was.

Then she thought about the boy again and shrugged. "He's not that bad," she said out loud.

"Who?"

Monse turned around, startled. Kayla was standing behind her. "Nobody!"

Kayla coughed and covered her nose. "What are you doing in this dirty staircase? It smells like smoke." Monse sat on the steps. "Ew, don't sit!"

" _Sit_ , Kayla."

Kayla sighed and sat down next to her. "What did the principal want?"

"You know that I was more than likely going to be valedictorian?" Monse started.

Kayla gasped. "What?! That's amazing! But you're leaving."

"Exactly."

Kayla frowned. "Well, I'm sure you can always be valedictorian at your new school, right?"

"Well according to the principal, some of my credits won't be transferred."

"What does that mean?"

"You know what it means Kayla," Monse retorted.

"Well, they can't do that right? Tell me they can't!"

"I don't know but my dad better fix this. This is on HIM."

"How would he even fix it?" Kayla asked.

"By letting me stay."

"And what if he doesn't?"

Monse looked at her slowly. "He doesn't have a choice."


	7. JAMAL.

❝ _You might be ready to go on a suicide mission for that girl, but I'm not. I'm done._ ❞  
  
  


Meanwhile in Freeridge, Jamal was getting lectured by his parents. _Once. Again._

"And I don't want you hanging out with Ruby anymore either!" his mother stated.

"That's not happening," Jamal quickly objected.

His mom and dad stared at him furiously. " _Excuse me?_ "

Jamal huffed and explained himself. "Look, Ruby is the only friend I really have."

"Well make new ones," Mr. Turner replied.

"But not with that Cesar boy!" Mrs. Turner quickly added.

"Wouldn't it be smart if I got on Cesar's good side? I'm not saying I want to, but..."

His parents exchanged an angry look. Then his father lashed out on him. "He gave you a busted lip and you want to be his friend?! Are you crazy?!?!?"

Jamal noticed that his parents were staring at him in disgust. He sucked his teeth. "You're not understanding what I'm trying to say."

"Oh I think we completely understand!" his mother shouted. "Ruby has you acting like his bodyguard!"

"He didn't tell me to take the punch for him!" Jamal told them.

"So why on earth would you?!"

Jamal shrugged. "That's what friends do."

"Would he do the same for you though?" his dad pointed out. "Think about that."

After those words, his father left the room. Jamal let those words resonate in his head. He wasn't sure what the answer to that question was.

Meanwhile, his mother shook her head angrily. "I don't think you understand how dangerous this situation is."

"Why is it dangerous? I wasn't his target."

"But now you are because you couldn't mind your business! Now you have the attention of all the Santos!"

Jamal sighed. "Mom—"

"Stay away from Ruby, I mean it. And I better not see you with bruises when I come home," she told him before walking out angrily.

Jamal slammed his hand on the table. This whole situation was uncalled for! And what for? Over a girl?

He shook his head in frustration and then his phone started ringing. When he saw it was Ruby, he quickly went up to his room and closed the door. "Yo."

"Yo, you ready to go? I'm heading over there now," Ruby said.

"No, don't come!" Jamal warned him.

"Why not?"

"It's a long story. Just meet me at school."

"Alright, cool. I can't wait to tell you about the plan to get rid of Cesar!"

Jamal rolled his eyes and hung up. Ruby was officially crazy and Jamal wasn't sure if he wanted to be a part of it.

He grabbed his stuff and left his house. He began walking to school alone for the first time since freshman year.

Jamal wasn't sure what the hell was going to happen, but there was one thing he knew for sure.

No girl could ever make him go this crazy.  
  


『••✎••』  
  


Ruby was standing at his locker putting his books away. He closed his locker and scanned the halls. Class was about to start, where the hell was Jamal? They needed to discuss the Cesar situation asap!

Ruby kept looking down the hall. He saw a boy with a hoodie over his head who looked exactly like Jamal. 

The boy looked at him briefly and then quickly turned away. That's when he realized that it _was_ Jamal.

"JAMAL!" Ruby shouted before he ran up to him.

Jamal stopped dead in his tracks. _Damn it!_

He slowly turned around and took his hoodie off with a fake smile on his face. "Oh Ruby, buddyyyy, there you are!"

"Where were you? I've been waiting for you!" Then Ruby looked at Jamal's huge hoodie questionably. "And why were you wearing that huge hoodie? It's like 80 degrees."

Jamal sighed. "Look Ruby, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

"My parents—"

"RUBY!" a voice called. They both turned around and saw Isabella heading their way. Ruby's jaw dropped.

She walked up to him and gave him a flashing smile. "Hey, handsome."

Unbeknownst to Ruby, he was drooling. "H-hi."

Isabella giggled. "And hey Jamal."

Jamal furrowed his eyebrows. "You know my name?"

"Of course I do. You're like the smartest boy in our grade."

Jamal smiled at that compliment. "Thank you."

Ruby elbowed Jamal and gave him a 'don't flirt with my girl' look. Jamal rolled his eyes and backed up against a locker.

Ruby focused back on Isabella. "So Isabella, what brings you here today?"

"Um, it's school. I have to be here," she responded.

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, of course! That was stupid of me to ask! Sorry that I asked! I can be so stupid sometimes!" Ruby rambled on and on which made Jamal facepalm.

"It's okay Ruby," Isabella said, shutting him up. "I just wanted to say hey to your cute self."

And then Ruby fainted. _Like literally fainted_.

Jamal gasped and rushed to his side. "RUBY?!"

Isabella shrugged. "He'll be fine." She took out a piece of paper and gave it to Jamal.

Jamal grabbed the paper and stared down it suspiciously. "What's this?"

"My number."

Those words regained Ruby's consciousness. He sprung up and snatched the paper.

Isabella simply laughed. "You can have it, Ruby."

"Really?"

"Of course. I'll be expecting a call?" she asked in a flirtatious way.

"Of course!"

"Alright. I'll see you guys around." She started to walk off a little, but turned back around. "Oh and Jamal, I'm really sorry about Cesar."

"It's cool, he—"

"Trust me, we ain't worried about Cesar," Ruby interrupted. "But tell him he should be worried about US. We're coming for him."

Jamal looked at Ruby as if he was a ghost. Was he out of his mind?!

Meanwhile, Isabella looked surprised to hear that. "Is that so?"

"Positive. He won't be messing with us anymore," Ruby told her.

Isabella just giggled. "Alright, bye."

"Bye beautiful!"

Ruby couldn't stop staring at her as she walked away. That was until Jamal pushed him against a locker. He stared at him frighteningly. "OW?!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jamal shouted.

"I was looking at her booty until you interrupted me!"

"Do you have a death wish?!"

"You know I'm scared to die."

"Are you?! Because you're threatening Cesar! Did you forget he's a SANTO?!" Jamal argued.

"I don't care what he is! He's going to fear me when I'm done with him!" Ruby argued back.

Jamal couldn't believe his ears. He shook his head at Ruby with nothing but disappointment on his face. "All of this over a girl?"

"It's more to it than that," Ruby told him.

"Like what? Please enlighten me, Ruby." But Ruby stayed silent. "I didn't think so."

Jamal began walking away.

"Where are you going?!" Ruby shouted after him.

Jamal swiveled around angrily. "You might be ready to go on a suicide mission for that girl, but I'm not. I'm done."

Ruby's heart dropped. "Done with what?" he asked, but Jamal walked away again. "JAMAL? JAMAL!"

Ruby kept calling for Jamal, but this time Jamal didn't come back.  
  


『••✎••』  
  


Cesar was in English class. His phone was vibrating nonstop. Isabella was still blowing him up.

"Diaz, turn off the phone," his annoying teacher ordered.

"Sorry, Mrs. Garcia."

"You _will_ be sorry when I fail you," Mrs. Garcia retorted. She continued the lesson.

Cesar rolled his eyes. He normally would have said something slick, but he really didn't want to get kicked out of school. So for now, he had to behave to the best of his ability.

At the end of class, Mrs. Garcia dismissed them. Cesar stood on top of his chair. "Hey everyone, hold up!"

Everyone turned their attention to him including his teacher. "Cesar, get off of that chair this instant!"

"This'll be quick, I promise."

His teacher put her hands up in defeat and walked out of the room. She wasn't getting paid enough for this nonsense!

When she left, Cesar made his announcement. "All of you are invited to my house Friday night."

They all looked confused.

"Why?" a boy asked.

"That's a good question, Steven," Cesar replied. "I'm throwing a little back to school party and I want you all to be there."

"School already started, idiot," a boy named Dave spat. The class laughed at his response. That was until Cesar got in Dave's face, then the class got quiet.

"I think I know that, smartass. Is there some other slick shit you wanna say?"

Dave gulped and shook his head no frantically. "No-n-no-no. I didn't mean it that way!"

"So tell me what you meant," Cesar growled.

"I just meant that I'm busy Friday night!"

Cesar laughed hysterically and everyone looked at him fearfully. He quickly stopped laughing and glowered at Dave. "You have the opportunity to get invited somewhere by a Santo, and you're too _busy_? Let me tell you something, NO ONE says no to a Santo! So cancel your plans, got it?"

Dave quivered in fear. Cesar looked around at the other students. "Anyone else too busy?" Everyone shook their heads no, completely terrified. "Good. Then I'll see you all Friday night."

After he dismissed them, they all ran out of the room. Cesar let out a sigh when the coast was clear. He really hated this tough guy act he had to play, but he didn't call the shots, his brother did, and he had to obey him.

He didn't dare want to find out what happens when you disobey Spooky. He shivered at the mere thought.

Cesar turned his phone back on. Isabella was still blowing him up. He ignored her, grabbed his stuff, and went to his locker to put his book away. And of course when he closed his locker, Isabella was standing right there.

Cesar jumped again. "Shit, girl! You gotta stop doing that!"

"I wouldn't need to do it if you would just answer your phone!" Isabella said angrily.

"Why you trippin?"

"Trippin? I'm not trippin."

"So why you acting clingy like you're my girl or something?"

Isabella scoffed and crossed her arms. "Oh please, I don't want you."

Cesar smirked. "Alright, so walk away."

Isabella stood there with hurt in her eyes. She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever Cesar, you're a dick!"

"I've been told."

She looked down the hall. Cesar looked too and saw Ruby staring at them jealously. He quickly turned away.

Cesar snickered. "Your boyfriend wants you."

Isabella faced Cesar. "You know what, you're right, I might make him my boyfriend after all. He seems like he's a better guy than you are."

Cesar's face got hot. Isabella noticed she pinched a nerve.

"Aw, did I offend you?" she teased.

Cesar pointed at Ruby as he spoke to her. "Go to him then! He can't do shit for you!"

"And you can?" Isabella burst out laughing. Ruby stared at them again.

"If I wanted to yeah, but I don't like you enough," Cesar spat.

Now Isabella's face got hot. "Fuck you."

"Goodbye, Isabella," Cesar said before walking away.

"I would be careful if I were you!" she yelled after him.

He huffed and slowly turned around. "What are you talking about now?"

She walked up to him. "Ruby would do anything for me."

Cesar rolled his eyes. "You sure about that?"

"Including hurting you."

Cesar laughed at that comment. "Bye girl."

"You should've heard what he said earlier. It sounded like he wanted you dead," she continued.

Cesar was a little startled. He got in her face and hissed at her. " _Stop. Talking._ "

Isabella shrugged. "And shit, he might just kill you. Who knows? I might even help him."

"Are you threatening me? Do you realize I'm a SANTO?!" Cesar raged.

She looked at Ruby again. He wasn't looking at them. She faced Cesar with a smirk on her face. "You underestimate him because he's small? But the small ones are the most dangerous. Your brother never taught you that, did he?"

Afterward, she walked up to Ruby. Cesar watched in disbelief as she whispered something in Ruby's ear, making Ruby smirk at Cesar. Then they both made their way towards Cesar.

Isabella walked past him, but Ruby stopped next to him and whispered something.

"What was it that you said yesterday?" Ruby started. "Oh yeah. _Game on bitch._ "

And with that, he walked away with Isabella.

Cesar's whole body froze up, and at that moment, he knew he fucked up.


	8. CONGRATULATIONS, YOU PLAYED YOURSELF.

❝ _I'm the only one man enough to stand up to Cesar. So yeah, I am different from the rest of you._ ❞

It was the end of the school day for Monse. She was at her locker with Kayla.

"Look, don't sweat it Monse. You'll get your credits," Kayla reassured her.

"I won't because I'm not leaving. Your mom is going to convince my dad to let me stay."

Kayla smiled faintly. "Yeah, of course. But...."

Monse closed her locker as she cut Kayla off. "There are no buts, Kayla. I have to stay."

"I'm trying to stay hopeful, but there's always that chance that it won't work," Kayla pointed out.

"Well, I'm saying it's going to work. I can't afford to think otherwise right now," Monse replied.

Kayla nodded. "I understand."

Students were making their way out of the school. Monse looked around the halls with a frown. She still couldn't believe this was possibly her last time stepping foot in this school. She had memories here—more bad than good—but still, they're memories.

"You ready to go?" Kayla asked her.

"Yeah," Monse said while looking down the hall. She spotted Jasmine and her posse. "Actually, I have one more thing that I have to do."

Kayla raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Monse strode up to Jasmine. "What's up bitch? Remember me?"

Jasmine turned her attention to Monse and a scowl appeared on her face. "Get away from me."

Monse smirked. "I will, after I do this." 

She punched Jasmine repeatedly. Jasmine didn't even fight back, and her little posse was watching in complete shock. 

"MONSE, STOP!" Kayla cried. She ran up to Monse and pulled her off Jasmine. "I think she's had enough!" 

Monse looked at Jasmine. She was all fucked up. "I told you that you were on my bucket list bitch!" 

Then the principal ran into the hallway. "What on earth—MONSE!"

Monse and Kayla ducked their heads and quickly ran out of the school. As they were running, they heard Jasmine yelling at her posse saying, "You bitches were supposed to help me!"

When Monse and Kayla were outside of the school, they laughed. 

"You are crazy!" Kayla exclaimed.

"I've been wanting to do that since day one."

Kayla chuckled. "Come on, let's go before the principal finds us." 

『••✎••』

When they arrived at Monse's house, Kayla turned to face her. "You know what to do, right?"

Monse shuffled her feet. "I have to somehow convince my dad to come with me to your house. No biggie."

"You seem nervous."

"This is probably going to turn into an argument knowing him," Monse told her. "But I got this."

"Alright, see you soon," Kayla said before walking off.

Monse took a deep breath and opened the door. "Dad! I'm home!"

Her dad walked into the room. "Hey, honey. How was school?"

"Fine, dad."

"Hopefully you ate lunch, 'cause you damn sure didn't eat breakfast," Monty retorted. 

Monse rolled her eyes. "Really? Get over it." 

Monty shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"Look, I came to tell you that Kayla's mom wants to speak with you," Monse informed him.

"Kayla's mom? We haven't talked in months."

"See, this is a good thing! You guys can reconnect! And you're both single so—"

"Stop it, Monse. I'm not interested," Monty interrupted.

"Just hear her out please," Monse pleaded. 

Monty huffed. "Alright, tell her to call." 

"In person, dad."

Monty furrowed his eyebrows. "In person? Who does that anymore?"

Monse rolled her eyes. "Let's go."

He sighed. "Fine, but I'm not staying long. We need to pack."

"Whatever, let's go."

They walked to Kayla's house. Monse knocked on the door and not too long after, Kayla opened it. "Oh hey Monse, we've been waiting for you."

"Hey girl," Monse said as she walked inside.

"Hello Mr. Finnie," Kayla greeted.

"Hello, Kayla."

Monty stepped inside of the house and Kayla closed the door. "You guys can sit on the couch. My mom will be out in a minute," she told them. 

Monse and Monty sat on the couch while Kayla went to her mom's room. "MOM, HURRY UP!"

"SHUT UP, KAYLA!" her mother yelled back. 

Monse swallowed hard and Monty let out a laugh. "Well this is very organized, isn't it?" 

"Just wait, dad."

Then Kayla and her mother appeared. Kayla's mother reeked of alcohol. She looked at Monse and Monty and then smiled. "Oh hello there, we weren't expecting company today."

"Mom, I told you they were coming over," Kayla whispered.

"Shut up, girl!" Ms. Boe snapped. 

Monty was confused. "Wait, so you didn't plan this?"

"No, not at all. The girls did."

Monty glared at Monse. "What's the meaning of this?"

Monse laughed nervously as she stood up. "Haha, okay, you caught me." She hopped and then did jazz hands. "Tadaaaaa, this is a blind date!"

Ms. Boe and Monty looked unamused.

Kayla huffed. "Okay look, this was my plan." She pointed at the couch and spoke. "Mom, have a seat."

Her mother sat down. "So what is this about?"

"This is about Monse. I don't want her to leave," Kayla answered. 

"I don't want to leave either," Monse added.

"Here we go again," Monty muttered.

"Mom, please tell him that she's welcomed to stay here!" Kayla pleaded.

"She's not," Ms. Boe bluntly said.

Kayla and Monse had dropped jaws. "WHAT?!" 

"She belongs with her father," Ms. Boe stated. 

Monty nodded. "Thank you!"

"But mom—"

"ENOUGH, KAYLA!" she yelled. "I'm not going to split their family up! Not after what happened to ours!"

All Kayla did was glare at her mother. Was she seriously ruining everything right now? 

"I HATE YOU!" she spat before she ran to her room.

"KAYLA!" Ms. Boe shouted before running after her.

Monse sighed. "Well, that didn't go as planned."

Monty scowled at her. "You really thought you could stay here? They have their own problems to deal with and her mom is a drunk!"

"Don't disrespect her!" Monse shouted. "You're in their house, the least you can do is be respectful!"

"We're leaving."

"I'm not going anywhere," Monse said firmly.

Monty headed for the door. "Let's go, Monse." 

Monse stood still and crossed her arms. Monty turned around to face her, extremely ticked off with her. "Little girl, I will DRAG you out of this house!"

But Monse stood her ground. "I'm not leaving New York! I'm not going to Freeridge just to have to repeat a grade!"

"What on earth are you talking about?!"

"The principal told me I could've been valedictorian, did you know that?!" Monse revealed.

"And you can do that in Freeridge."

"No I can't because some of my credits won't count!" Monse replied.

Monty's eyes widened. "What?" 

"You heard me!"

"Who told you that?"

"The principal."

"Well, that's certainly not true. I don't know why she would lie to you like that."

"It is true and you know it. But of course you don't care. All you care about is that stupid job offer!" Monse said angrily.

"Excuse me, but that job is how I'm going to be able to take care of you!" Monty argued. 

"You wouldn't have to worry about that if you would just let me stay here!" Monse argued back.

Her father rolled his eyes. "Look, you are not staying here. I'll make sure your credits transfer over."

"HOW?"

"Just trust me, honey." 

Then his phone rang. He took his phone out of his pocket and stared at the caller id suspiciously. "Hello?" 

He listened to the person on the other line. As he did so, he glowered at Monse which caused her to gulp. "I'll handle her. Thank you."

When he hung up, Monse pointed at his phone. "Who was that?"

"Your principal. Apparently you got into a fight today? Is that why your hands are all bruised up?" he questioned.

Monse huffed. "Jasmine had it coming."

Monty snickered. "Well guess what? This whole idea of you staying in NY is officially dead now. You just ruined your own plan. Good job."

Monse furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"You are no longer welcomed at your high school," Monty informed her.

Her eyes shot open. "WHAT? They can't do that!"

"They can and they did. Congratulations, you played yourself."

Monty left the house after that. 

Monse stood there, completely frozen. She got kicked out of school just because she beat Jasmine up? Now she had no choice but to move! 

Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She had a text from a number she didn't recognize.

 **UNKNOWN** : Good job Monse, you won the fight but I won the war. - **Jasmine**

Monse looked up from her phone with nothing but a furious look on her face. _That bitch._

『••✎••』

Jamal was sitting at his lunch table alone. He had no idea where Ruby was, and he kind of didn't care. Ruby was acting way too reckless lately and he was going to end up with a target on his back.

Maybe he should listen to his parents after all. 

Jamal thought about what his father said. Would Ruby had taken a punch for him? Probably not.

"Hey," a voice said.

Jamal looked up and saw Ruby. "What?"

"This is my table too, remember?" Ruby said as he sat down.

Jamal looked at him doubtfully. "Shouldn't you be sitting with your girlfriend?"

Ruby shrugged. "I have no idea where she is." 

"Wait...she's really your girl?"

Ruby laughed. "Dude, I think so!" Then he shrugged. "I mean, she left Cesar for me after all."

"I'm officially confused," Jamal said while scratching his head.

"You wouldn't be if you hadn't left me earlier."

"I left 'cause you've been acting different," Jamal told him.

Ruby rolled his eyes. "I'm the only one man enough to stand up to Cesar. So yeah, I am different from the rest of you."

"He's dangerous," Jamal warned.

Ruby smirked slyly. "And so am I." 

Jamal sighed. Ruby was way too bent on revenge. "Look Ruby, what I wanted to tell you earlier was about my parents."

Ruby opened his carton of milk. "They broke up? Oh man, I'm sorry."

"No, man. They don't want me around you."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "Why? They love me!"

Jamal shook his head. "Not after I took a hit for you. They think you're making me your bodyguard."

"I didn't tell you to!"

"I know, and I told them that but they don't care," Jamal said sadly.

Ruby was a little hurt but he shrugged it off. "Well it doesn't matter, you're talking to me right now."

"If you keep acting reckless then I might have to stop," Jamal warned.

Ruby glared at him. "Seriously?! What happened to 'our friendship is forever.' We took an oath!"

Jamal frowned. "I'm sorry, Ruby. I can't afford to have a gang ready to kill me."

Ruby scoffed. "So I'm the bad guy for standing up for myself? What a joke." He stood up with his tray and started walking away. 

"Ruby, wait!" Jamal shouted after him, but Ruby didn't come back. 

Jamal sighed. Did he really just lose his best friend? His _only_ friend? 

He put his head in his hands, completely frustrated. Why was this school year such bullshit?!

"Forget him, he's a jerk anyway," Cesar said as he walked up to him, tray in hand.

Jamal quickly looked up and saw Cesar staring at him. A mixture of confusion and fear appeared on his face. 

"Can I sit here?" Cesar asked.

Jamal was at a loss for words. Was he seeing this correctly? 

He fumbled over his words. "Uh...um..."

"Thanks," Cesar said before sitting down across from him. 

Jamal gulped. "Don't you have other people to sit with?"

"Don't you?"

"Not really," Jamal answered.

"Me either. I lost my lunch partner apparently," Cesar told him. He was talking about Isabella, of course. Now she was team Ruby and the mere thought angered Cesar. 

"You look a little pissed..." Jamal said nervously.

"I'm very pissed," Cesar admitted. Jamal tensed up and Cesar noticed his fear. "Don't worry, I won't take my anger out on you."

"That's very much appreciated," Jamal replied slowly. Cesar was being nice but he was still terrified of him.

"Apple?"

Jamal snapped out of his thoughts. "What?"

"You want my apple?" Cesar offered.

"No thanks. I ate."

"You look like you could use some more to eat," Cesar joked. Jamal fake laughed causing Cesar to suck his teeth. "Oh come on, loosen up! I'm not here to hurt you." 

"So why are you here?" Jamal wondered. "Someone of your stature shouldn't be sitting here with a dork like me."

"Says who?" Cesar asked before biting into his apple. 

"Society," Jamal answered.

"Well fuck society. I don't care what people think of me and you shouldn't either."

Jamal scoffed. "That's easy for you to say. You can just get your brother to beat up anyone who challenges you." Cesar gave him a death stare. Jamal quickly apologized. "S-S-Sorry!"

"I'll let that slide. I mean, you're right. I could get my brother to fight my battles, but I don't need to." Then Cesar looked straight ahead and nudged his head. "Why do you even hang out with that clown?"

Jamal followed Cesar's gaze and saw Ruby sitting at a table with some geeks. He turned back around and frowned. "He's my best friend. My only friend, really."

"Well not anymore."

Jamal looked puzzled. "What are you saying?"

"Are you loyal, Jamal?" Cesar asked out of nowhere.

"I would like to think so," Jamal answered.

"You must be if you took a hit for him. You would probably take a bullet for him too," Cesar mentioned.

Jamal's eyes shot wide open. "Look, I know you're a Santo, but I don't want Ruby dead!" 

"I'm not killing him. It was just an observation," Cesar assured him. "Look Jamal, I need someone loyal like you in my circle. So what do you say? You wanna be friends?"

Jamal's jaw dropped. "You wanna be friends with me?"

"I do."

Jamal gasped. Should he be friends with a possible gang member? Would that bring danger to him? Or maybe that would guarantee his protection? And Jamal really needed a friend right now since Ruby hated him.

Cesar was growing impatient. "Yes or no?" 

"Yes!" Jamal answered without hesitation.

Cesar was pleased to hear that. He smiled a little. "Cool. I'm having a party Friday night. I expect to see you there."

Jamal nodded vigorously. "Of course!"

"Cool, see ya friend," Cesar said before getting up.

"Where are you going?" Jamal asked.

"I got things to do," Cesar answered. 

When he walked off, Jamal grinned. Did he actually just become friends with a Santo?! Maybe this year wouldn't be so bad after all. 

He turned around to look at Ruby, and to his surprise, Ruby was staring right back with nothing but anger in his eyes.


	9. DISAPPOINTMENT.

❝ _If you can't even win a simple fight against a little boy, how can we rely on you when shit gets real?_ ❞  
  


  
After lunch, Ruby was at his locker. He slammed it so hard that it startled everyone in the hallway, but he didn't care. What he wanted to know was, why was Jamal all of a sudden talking to Cesar? _His rival?_

Didn't Jamal say that Cesar was dangerous? But now he was communicating with him? Not to mention that this was all happening AFTER Jamal cut him off. 

Ruby shook his head furiously. _Fuck Jamal, I have Isabella now._

Speaking of Isabella, where was she? 

He took out the piece of paper she gave him and dialed her number. She answered immediately. 

"Hello?"

"Hey beautiful, where are you?"

Isabella giggled. "I'm at school, just like you."

"Then how come I haven't seen you?"

"I see you," Isabella replied.

Ruby turned around and saw Isabella walking his way. The corners of his mouth broke out into a wide grin. "There you are."

"You know most people text these days, right?" she mentioned.

"I'm not most people, baby." 

Isabella giggled again. "You're adorable."

"Better than Cesar?"

Isabella huffed. "Oh come on, Ruby. This isn't a competition." 

"I know. I just can't believe he almost had you."

Isabella had a sour look on her face. "Ugh, I can't stand him." 

"Me either."

"You know he had the nerve to call me a bitch earlier?" Isabella lied.

That pissed Ruby off. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah! And he threatened me! He said if I kept talking, he was going to tell his brother to kill me!" Isabella continued.

Ruby was fuming. "Why did he say that?"

"He's crazy and bipolar, that's why!"

"Where the hell is he?!" Ruby stormed through the halls and yelled, "Where the fuck is CESAR DIAZ?!?!"

Isabella tried to keep up with him. "Ruby, calm down!"

"No, I won't calm down! I've had enough of his shit! He needs to learn how to respect women!" He continued storming through the halls. "Where the FUCK is Cesar?!?!"

Dave pointed down the hall. "Over there." 

Cesar was at his locker. He heard Ruby yelling his name and turned around, completely confused. Ruby stormed up to him and put his finger on his chest. "You think you're a tough guy, don't you?"

Students circled around them. Isabella watched on with a smirk. Cesar was already losing his patience. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Why are you calling my girl a bitch?!" 

Cesar burst out laughing. "Your girl? She's out of your league, kid."

"And you think she's in yours?" Ruby fired back. 

The students ooo'ed. Cesar glowered at Ruby. "Listen you kindergartner, she only wants you now because I rejected her ass."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Nobody wanted your ass!"

"You sure did. You were hurt because I didn't text you back," Cesar revealed. 

The students laughed at Isabella which angered Ruby. He addressed the crowd. "Why are yall laughing?! That doesn't change the fact that Cesar's a dickhead!"

Cesar crossed his arms. "You really wanna fight over her? She's using you. She told me she's just having fun with you."

"Shut the fuck up and don't call her a bitch again!" Ruby warned.

"I never called her a bitch!" Cesar shouted.

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ruby pushed him against the locker. The students inhaled sharply while Isabella smirked.

Cesar pushed him back. "Listen, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Well, I wanna hurt you. And I know everyone else here does too. I don't give a fuck if you're a Santo, you're a dead man walking," Ruby threatened.

The students gasped. Cesar's face got hot. "You know what? I was trying to be civil for Jamal's sake, but fuck that!"

Jamal pushed his way through the crowd. "Cesar, don't!"

Ruby scoffed. "Oh, is this your buddy now?"

"Ruby, cut it out," Jamal pleaded.

"No, you cut it out! You betrayed me for this piece of garbage!"

"Says the one who's acting like a fool over a bitch," Cesar retorted.

Suddenly, Ruby punched Cesar in the face. Cesar stumbled back, a little stunned. He quickly snapped out of his shock and socked Ruby in the jaw. Next thing everyone knew, they were full on fighting.

Jamal was watching them with nothing but fear on his face. "RUBY, STOP!"

"GO RUBY!" Isabella cheered.

Jamal stormed up to her. "You're really cheering? This is your fault!"

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Cesar had it coming."

Jamal rushed into the fight and pulled Ruby away. Ruby tried to fight him off. "Get the fuck off me, Jamal!"

Meanwhile, Cesar touched his lip. It was busted. 

"I got more where that came from!" Ruby yelled.

"SO DO I!" Cesar yelled back.

Isabella ran up to Ruby. "Are you okay?"

Ruby touched his cheek and nodded. "Just a little scratch."

Isabella kissed his cheek. "I'm so proud of you!"

The students were cheering for Ruby because he won the fight. Jamal walked up to Cesar. "Yo, you good?"

"No, I'm not good. I didn't want to hurt your friend but now I have to."

Jamal's heart dropped. "Please don't! He just hasn't been himself lately," he pleaded, but all Cesar did was storm off. 

Jamal sighed and walked up to Ruby. Students were crowding around him and cheering.

"Damn, you really beat his ass!" Dave exclaimed.

"He ain't as scary as he seems," Ruby stated. "He's a fraud."

Everyone laughed at that comment.

"Ruby," Jamal called.

Ruby huffed. "I don't talk to traitors."

"We can talk about this." 

Ruby pointed at his cheek. "You see this scratch, Jamal?" 

"Yes."

"And did you see Cesar's lip?" Ruby added.

"Yes."

"I only have one thing to say to you." Ruby leaned in next to Jamal's ear and whispered. _"Who has the busted lip now?"_

That sentence sent chills down Jamal's spine.

"You could've been on the winning side but you chose him. So you're garbage too," Ruby spat. Then he faced Isabella. "Let's go, Isabella."

Ruby linked arms with Isabella and walked off. Jamal stood there, unable to move. 

It was official. Ruby hated him which only meant one thing. He HAD to get his friend back.

  
『••✎••』  
  


After his fight with Ruby, Cesar rushed into his house in search of his brother. "Oscar! OSCAR!"

Spooky emerged from his room with a panicked look on his face. "What's going on?!"

"We have a problem," Cesar warned.

Spooky's whole body tensed up. Those were not words he wanted to hear.

"Is it the Prophets?" he asked nervously. 

"No, it's not them."

"Then tell me, boy!"

"It's Ruby," Cesar told him.

Spooky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Who the hell is Ruby?"

"One of the boys I got into it with yesterday," Cesar answered.

Spooky laughed. "Don't tell me it's the short one."

"It is."

Spooky looked at Cesar curiously. "What about him?"

"What about him?" Cesar repeated, irritation clear in his tone. "He did THIS to my LIP!" Cesar pointed at his lip angrily.

"And you gave him a little scratch on his cheek," Spooky mentioned. 

Cesar had a confused look on his face as if he was thinking, 'how'd he know that?' Spooky noticed his shock. "Yeah, I know everything, little bro."

"Well we have to do something! He's coming after us!" Cesar urged. 

"No, he's coming after you, not us," Spooky responded. 

"Well, I'm a Santo—"

Spooky quickly cut him off. "You're not a Santo and you never will be."

Cesar's jaw dropped. "What? It's in my blood!"

"If you can't even win a simple fight against a little boy, how can we rely on you when shit gets real?"

"He caught me off guard, that's all!"

Spooky scoffed and then glared at Cesar as he spoke. "You're a joke. Did I not teach you anything at ALL?!"

Cesar sighed. "I underestimated him, I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Spooky abruptly grabbed Cesar by the shirt. "Do you know what you just did to our image?! Now we look weak!"

Cesar gulped and looked at him fearfully. "Tha-that's why we-we need to ge-get rid of him!"

"No. This is your problem, YOU fix it!" Spooky pushed Cesar away from him. "And whatever else he does to you is not my problem. Don't come running to me again like a little bitch!"

Cesar had tears in his eyes. "But...I'm your brother."

Spooky glared at him. "You need to earn my respect." Then he looked through his phone. "That party still happening, right?"

Cesar nodded. "I invited everyone."

"Make sure Ruby's there," Spooky ordered.

"What? Are you joking? He's a threat!" Cesar objected.

"I said _make sure he's there_ ," Spooky said slowly and deadly.

Cesar huffed. "Fine."

Spooky smirked. "Who knows, maybe you can even redeem yourself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fix the mess you made."

"I'm really sorry. I won't let the Santos down again," Cesar promised.

"You better not."

"How are you going to fix it?" Cesar asked.

"People think we're weak now. They aren't scared of us anymore. Well, I'm going to make sure they remember who the fuck we are."

Cesar gulped. He knew what that meant. Someone was dying.

"Or maybe you should do the honors?" Spooky continued. "You owe it to us, after all."

"I'm not a Santo, remember?" Cesar retorted, not wanting to get any blood on his hands.

Spooky rolled his eyes and left. Cesar let out a deep breath. He never wanted blood on his hands. Not now, not ever. 

But Ruby's blood? That wouldn't be too bad.

Just then, his phone vibrated. He saw it was Isabella texting him. 

_What the fuck does she want? Oh yeah, me._

He snickered and opened the text.

 **ISABELLA :** I told you not to underestimate him.

Cesar's face got hot. _This bitch._

『••✎••』

Monse was sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. Did she really just mess up any chance she had of staying in NY? She sure did. 

She looked at Jasmine's text again and then sucked her teeth. She should've never let Jasmine get the best of her.

"You better be packing, Monse!" her dad yelled.

"I am!"

"I don't hear any movement!" 

Monse rolled her eyes and got up. She packed some of her clothes and then sat back down. She wasn't in the mood for this at all. 

Suddenly, Kayla called her. 

"Hey," Kayla said sadly.

"Hey."

"Look, I'm really sorry the plan didn't work," Kayla apologized. "My mom is a complete idiot."

"It's cool. She tried her best."

"Did she? She completely shut you down!"

Monse shrugged sadly. "Maybe they're right. I shouldn't be split up from my dad. He's all I got."

"You got me," Kayla reminded her.

"Family wise."

Kayla sighed. "This sucks."

"I couldn't stay anyway. They kicked me out of school."

"WHAT?!" Kayla shouted in complete shock.

"Stupid Jasmine as always," Monse continued. "She finally won."

"I swear I'm going to give her a piece of my mind!" Kayla said angrily.

"Don't. She'll get you kicked out too," Monse warned.

Kayla let out a loud huff. "All because her mom works there."

Monse sighed. "Pretty much." 

They stayed silent for a while. Then Kayla broke the silence. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"I suppose."

"I'll be at the airport tomorrow. I want to say bye one more time," Kayla told her.

"You have school."

"I don't care. This is way more important."

Monse smiled weakly. "Bet. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Bye BFF."

"Bye," Monse said before hanging up. Out of nowhere, she began weeping. She was going to miss the hell out of Kayla. Why did she have to move across the country? 

Monty walked into her room to check on her. He saw her tears and quickly rushed up to her. "Oh honey, why are you crying?!"

Monse wiped her face. "We're really leaving."

Monty sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "It's for the best honey, I promise."

"It just feels so unreal," Monse said sadly.

"Look Monse, I know we've had to relocate many times before. Ever since your mom left—"

Monse cut him off. " _Don't_. I don't want to talk about her."

Her dad sighed. "I don't want you to hate her."

"Well I do," she spat. She stood up, not wanting his comfort anymore. Her sadness had turned into irritation when her mother's name was mentioned. "I need to keep packing."

"Monse, this is the last time we're moving. I'll make sure of it."

"I hope so, dad."

He stood up and kissed her forehead. "You need help packing?"

"No. I got it."

"Alright."

After Monty left the room, she put her hands on her dresser and exhaled deeply. She didn't know why, but she just got so triggered when her mom was mentioned. How could she just up and leave so easily? 

Her mother had left them when she was three. Her father told her that her mother had promised to keep in contact, but never did. How are you not supposed to hate someone like that?

Monse cleared her head and continued packing. When she opened her dresser, she saw something she did not want to see. A picture of her mom, her dad, and herself, when she was a baby. 

She stared down at her mother in disgust and quickly retrieved a pair of scissors. She cut her mom out of the pic.

She smirked, satisfied with the outcome. 

_I don't need any bad vibes._

Then she continued packing.


	10. CULT.

❝ _What is this, a fucking cult?!_ ❞

  
  


It was finally Thursday morning. Monse was eating breakfast with her dad for the last time in their house.

"How you feeling?" Monty asked.

"Open minded," Monse replied.

"I'm so glad to hear that. You'll thank me for this, trust me."

Monse nodded. Her dad checked his watch. "We should get going. We don't want to miss our plane."

Monse put her plate in the sink. She didn't bother washing it, it's not like she was staying there.

She went up to her room and grabbed her suitcases. She took one last look at her room and frowned.

_I'll miss you._

Then she went downstairs and saw her dad with his bags.

"You got everything?" he asked. Monse nodded. "Alright, off we go."

They left the house and turned around to stare at it one last time. They smiled sadly and then made their way to the airport. 

『••✎••』

Now they were sitting in the waiting area. Monse checked her phone. No word from Kayla. Maybe she couldn't make it after all.

"I thought Kayla was coming?" her dad asked.

"I thought so too," Monse said sadly.

『••✎••』

Thirty minutes later—still no Kayla. Just then, the announcement came on telling her to board her flight.

"We have to go, honey. I'm sorry," Monty told her.

Monse had tears in her eyes. She checked her phone once more. Nothing. 

She grabbed her bags and followed her father to the line, but then she heard someone calling her name.

"MONSE! WAIT!" Kayla yelled while running towards her.

"KAYLA!!" Monse ran up to her. They hugged for what felt like an eternity. "I thought you weren't coming!"

"I can't believe I almost missed you. I had to pick this up." Kayla took out a box and showed it to Monse.

"What's that? Are you proposing to me?" Monse joked.

Kayla giggled and shook her head. "No. Open it."

Monse opened the box and gasped. Inside was a beautiful necklace that said Kayla on it. She stared at the necklace, confused. "Um, I think this one is yours."

"No, it's for you." Kayla took out another box. She took out a necklace that said Monse. "This way we won't ever forget each other."

Monse broke out into a grin. "This is so sweet, Kayla!"

"There's more." Kayla took out two more boxes. Inside were friendship bracelets that said M+K and K+M.

Monse chuckled. "Wow. You really outdid yourself."

"You're worth it. I'm going to miss you, BFF."

"I am too." 

They hugged again, squeezing each other tight, never wanting to let go. But they knew they had to which made them weep. 

Then the announcer said it was the last chance to board the plane. They stopped hugging and looked at each other sadly.

"I guess this is really goodbye," Kayla said with a gloomy sigh.

"Sadly it is."

"Make sure you keep in contact."

"Always," Monse promised.

"Well go, I would hate for you to miss your flight." Kayla paused and whispered. " _Not really._ "

They laughed together one last time. Monse grabbed her bags and headed for the airplane entryway. Before she entered, she looked at Kayla one more time and waved goodbye. Kayla waved back and then she was gone. 

When she got on the plane, she found her father already sitting down. "Where on earth were you?!"

"Kayla came through after all," Monse replied before showing him the gifts.

Monty looked at the jewelry in awe. "Those are beautiful, Monse. Want to put the necklace on?"

Monse nodded. Her father put the necklace on her. "It looks beautiful on you."

Monse smiled and touched the necklace. She promised herself that she was never going to take it off.

Not too long later, the plane was lifting off. Monse and her dad looked out the window to see NY one last time.

"Goodbye New York," Monty started.

"And hellooooo Freeridge," she finished.

And off they were.

『••✎••』

Jamal was pacing back and forth. His parents had annoyed facial expressions.

"Boy, if you don't sit down!" his father demanded.

"ARE YALL HAPPY NOW?!" Jamal shouted.

"Watch your tone, Jamal!" his mother scolded.

"Now Ruby hates me!"

"And I'm glad! Maybe now you can get your common sense back!" Mr. Turner responded. "He even has you thinking that it's okay to talk back to your parents!"

"Look, I don't know how they do stuff at his house, but we're not tolerating the disrespect," Mrs. Turner added.

"I'm not disrespecting ANYONE!"

"TONE, BOY!"

Jamal huffed. "You guys just don't get it. He was the only friend I had!"

"Like we said yesterday, make new ones."

"And I listened to you—" Jamal replied.

"So why are we still talking about Ruby?" Mrs. Turner asked.

"—With Cesar," Jamal quickly finished.

His parent's eyes widened.

" _What. about. Cesar?_ " his dad asked slowly and grimly.

Jamal shrugged. "He wanted to be my friend so I said yes."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!!!!????" his mother raged.

"HE GAVE YOU A BUSTED LIP!" his father shouted.

"Like I said, the punch wasn't for me. Besides, Cesar isn't dangerous. He's a pretty chill guy."

His mother looked like she was about to faint. "I can't believe the filth I'm hearing out of this boy's mouth."

"Stay away from that boy, Jamal. BOTH of them!" his father demanded.

Then the doorbell rang. Jamal shrugged. "Too late."

Mrs. Turner looked at the door suspiciously. "Who is that?" 

Jamal went and opened the door. Cesar stood on the other side. "Hey."

Jamal's parents were absolutely furious when they saw Cesar at their doorway. "JAMAL, CLOSE THAT DOOR, NOW!"

"Gotta go," Jamal told them. He walked out and closed the door behind him. He and Cesar could still hear his parents inside the house yelling.

"They hate my guts," Cesar noted.

"A lot of people do," Jamal told him, causing Cesar to sigh. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it." 

"Already have."

They made their way to school. When they got there, they stopped on the school steps. Cesar turned to face Jamal. "You still coming to my party tomorrow?"

"Yeah, for sure. Who else is coming?"

Cesar rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, about that. You think you can convince Ruby to come?"

Jamal furrowed his eyebrows. "You guys hate each other."

"I know, but I want him to be there. I invited everyone else, it doesn't feel right to leave him out."

"He also hates me too, remember? He doesn't even want to breathe the same air as me," Jamal reminded him.

"Just try please," Cesar pleaded.

Jamal rolled his eyes. "I'll try my best. Just don't hurt him."

"No promises."

Jamal nudged his head at Cesar's busted lip. "How's your lip?

"How's yours?"

They both laughed. Then a group of boys walked past them. "How does it feel to be crowned a bitch, Cesar?" one of them commented.

Cesar saw that it was Dave. He immediately got defensive. "What'd you say?!"

"And since when do you hang out with Turner? Aren't you supposed to be a bad boy?" Dave continued.

"FRAUD!" another boy jeered. The boys laughed and walked into the school while they chanted, "All hail Ruby!"

Cesar sucked his teeth. "What is this, a fucking cult?!"

"I told you that you shouldn't be near me," Jamal told him.

Cesar rolled his eyes and walked into the school with Jamal following behind him. 


	11. ALL HAIL RUBY.

❝ _You better leave me alone, Jamal. Or Ruby's coming for that ass._ ❞

Ruby walked inside of Freeridge High school, 20 minutes later. He had a crowd of students behind him, cheering for him. Isabella was one of them.

"ALL HAIL RUBY!" Isabella chanted.

"ALL HAIL RUBY!" the students repeated.

Ruby chuckled and looked over at the girl of his dreams. "Did you come up with that? That shits on my Instagram nonstop."

"I sure did," Isabella said before kissing his cheek. "You deserve it. You took down the big bad wolf!"

Ruby smirked. "I did, huh?"

They all walked to Ruby's locker. Just then, the principal entered the hall and saw Ruby and his crowd of fans. "Excuse me, Martinez."

Ruby looked at the principal. "How may I help you, sir?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Of what?"

"All of these students crowding around you," the principal answered. "Is this a gang?"

Isabella stepped forward. "No sir. You see, Ruby takes _down_ gang members, not creates them."

"I don't remember asking you Isabella," the principal spat. Isabella swallowed hard and stepped back. "And it'd be wise for you all to go to class unless you want detention on Saturday."

Nope, no one wanted detention! Everyone ran off to class. 

Ruby also tried to sneak away, but the Principal caught him. "Not you, Martinez."

Ruby halted. _Shit_. 

He turned around slowly. "What do you need from me, sir?"

"I need you in my office. _Now_ ," the principal demanded. He began walking off. Ruby sucked his teeth and followed behind him. 

When they got to the office, Ruby took a seat. "Look, I have a class to get to. I would hate to miss out on quality learning time." 

"Is that so?" the principal responded. "Because last time I checked, you were walking into school twenty minutes late."

Ruby shrugged. "I woke up late."

"Yeah, and I'm guessing those other thirty students woke up late too, huh?"

"Is that a trick question?"

The principal pulled out a book. "According to my records, your punctuality has never been a problem. Until today. Isn't that strange?"

Ruby put his hands up defensively. "I plead the fifth."

"Oh, but it is strange. And it can't be a coincidence that this happens AFTER you get into a fight with Cesar."

"You know about that?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"Of course I do. My hall monitors tell me everything." The principal stood up. "According to them, you won the fight. You must feel proud, huh?"

Ruby popped his collar. "It's impressive, isn't it? I mean, come on. Who would've thought I'd beat up a Santo! I mean, look at me—"

"YOU THINK THAT'S SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT?!" the principal yelled, getting in Ruby's face. 

Ruby backed up in his chair and turned his head away from his principal's breath. "Um, personal space?"

"You must think you're—what is it you kids call it these days? Hot shit?"

Ruby burst out laughing. "Please don't say that ever again!"

The principal rolled his eyes. "Is that why all of these students are flocking around you?"

"What can I say? I'm their new leader."

"What's your beef with Diaz, Ruby?"

Ruby leaned forward and talked low. "Cesar Diaz is a fraud. I just proved that. And if he's a fraud, all the Santos are frauds and I'm going to prove that too."

His principal looked horrified.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a school to run," Ruby said before getting up. Before he left the office, he turned around and said, "Oh yeah, don't forget— _All Hail Ruby_." 

And then he walked out.

His principal stood there in complete shock. He quickly went to the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello? Mrs. Martinez? Yes...we need to talk about your son asap."

『••✎••』

Ruby arrived at his English class minutes later. He opened the door and everyone stared at him.

"You're late, Ruby," Mrs. Garcia scolded.

"I was busy," Ruby told her.

"Doing what?"

"Saving the school from bad guys like Cesar."

The students clapped and cheered. "ALL HAIL RUBY!"

"ENOUGH! I won't tolerate this in my classroom! Take your seat before I fail you, Ruby."

Ruby smirked and took his seat. Oh, how he loved this attention.

『••✎••』

After first period, Jamal was at his locker. He hadn't seen Ruby yet. What he did see was a bunch of students coming out of the Art room wearing "All hail Ruby" shirts.

_What the hell?_

Jamal walked up to a girl. "Where'd you get these shirts?!"

She pointed at the art room. "They're three dollars." Then she looked him up and down. "But honestly, I don't think they have your size." Then she flipped her hair and walked off.

"I'm not FAT!" he yelled after her. He looked around some more and walked up to another girl. "Where's Ruby?!" 

"Who's Ruby?" she answered.

"You're literally worshiping him on your shirt."

"Oh, this?" She pointed at the shirt and shrugged. "I just bought it because everyone else was."

Jamal rolled his eyes and walked away. All of these students were just sheep. 

He decided to walk up to one final girl. "Where's Ruby?"

"I have no idea," she answered.

"Well, where's Cesar?"

"Who cares? He's a fraud."

Jamal bellowed out of frustration. The girl looked frightened. He began to walk away but she stopped him. "Hey! If you find Ruby, tell him I wanna see him!"

"For what?" Jamal asked.

"I want him to sign my boob," she replied. She started to flash her boob.

"OH GODDDDD!!!!!!" 

Jamal ran away while covering his eyes. He ran and ran until he ended up in the art room. He uncovered his eyes and saw a bunch of shirts on the tables. 

He grabbed one. Of course it said All hail Ruby on it. Who was behind this?

"You tryna buy one?" a voice behind him asked.

He turned around and saw Isabella. He scowled at her. "Of course it's you."

"Who else would it be?" She flipped her hair. "I'm Ruby's number one fan."

"I wonder why."

"Because I love him, silly."

"Is that so? Because I'm pretty sure not too long ago you loved Cesar," Jamal recalled.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Look, I get it. You're Cesar's little bitch now."

"I AM NOT!"

"You are and everyone knows it. Even Ruby." She shrugged. "Are you going to buy one or not?"

"No. You're overcharging for this anyway."

"Then get your filthy hands off of it!" Isabella spat before snatching the shirt from him. 

Jamal crossed his arms and stared at the shirt in disgust. "How are you even allowed to sell this anyway?"

"I'm not. But that's not going to stop me."

"It will if I tell the principal," Jamal threatened.

Isabella snickered at him. "Aww, you're really trying to protect Cesar, aren't you?"

"This has nothing to do with Cesar!" Jamal snapped.

Isabella got in his face and threatened him back. "If you snitch on me, I'll make sure I send Ruby on your ass next."

Jamal swallowed hard but stood his ground. "You're making him sound like a dog."

Isabella smirked.

"Besides, Ruby wouldn't hurt me," Jamal continued.

"You sure about that?" Isabella questioned.

"Positive."

"Well, let's test that theory out." She began walking to the door.

"What are you doin—"

"RUBY! RUBY! JAMAL CALLED ME A WHORE!" she yelled into the hallway.

Jamal gasped. He quickly grabbed her and shut the door. "I did not!"

"You better leave me alone, Jamal. Or Ruby's coming for that ass," she threatened. "NOW GET OUT!"

Jamal stormed out of the room. "Fuck you and your cheap ass shirts!" he yelled from outside the door. 

He huffed and looked down the hall. He saw Ruby talking to a group of guys. He walked up to him.

"Yo, this is clean!" Ruby commented while holding up a shirt.

"That one was custom made for you," a boy told him.

"By who?"

"Your queen," the boy replied.

Ruby grinned at the thought of Isabella. "She's the best."

"Ruby," Jamal called as he walked up to him.

Ruby spun around and held up his shirt. "Yo Jamal, you seen these shirts?"

"Yes I have. I've seen them so much, it's getting to the point where I'm tired of seeing them," Jamal said through gritted teeth.

"Someone's jealous," a boy commented.

Ruby agreed. "Yeah, relax Jamal. You could've had all of this luxury but you chose Cesar."

"FRAUD!" another boy jeered. All of Ruby's followers laughed.

Jamal was losing his patience. He focused on Ruby. "Can I talk to you? _Alone_?"

Ruby rolled his eyes. He turned to look at his loyal admirers and waved a dismissive hand at them. "Dismissed." 

The boys left them alone. Jamal watched them walk away with furrowed eyebrows. Then he looked at Ruby in disgust. "Dismissed? Are they your slaves?"

"Jamal, I'm big daddy pimpin in these halls."

"And what about outside of these halls?" Jamal wondered.

Ruby shrugged. "I'm the Kingslayer. No Jaime Lannister."

Jamal looked puzzled. "Whatever that means."

Ruby rolled his eyes. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Jamal suddenly remembered that he had to invite Ruby to Cesar's party. "Yeah, there is." 

"So talk. My time is precious."

"There's a part—"

Jamal was cut off by an obnoxious Isabella who was running up to them. "RUBY, BABY!" 

Jamal glared at her. She always knew when to interrupt. On the other hand, Ruby was ecstatic to see her. He gave her a quick peck on the lips and then said, "Hey beautiful."

"Is Jamal bothering you?" she asked.

"I don't know yet." He crossed his arms at his ex best friend. "Are you, Jamal?" 

Isabella gave Jamal a 'you better act right' look. Jamal rolled his eyes mentally. "Actually, I was just leaving. You have a good day, Ruby."

"But you were about to tell me something!" Ruby replied.

"It's not important," Jamal said before walking away.

He walked down the hallway and then looked back at Ruby and Isabella. They were kissing and students were crowding around them chanting "All hail Ruby" once again.

Jamal shook his head and walked off. Ruby was officially not the Ruby he used to know. 


	12. ISABELLA’S THE PROBLEM.

❝ _Ruby isn’t the problem._ ❞ 

After lunch, Cesar rushed through the halls looking for Jamal. Jamal was a no show at lunch, much to Cesar's displeasure. He had to deal with everyone snickering at him, calling him a fraud, and waving their new T-shirts around, ALONE. He was officially pissed.

_All hail Ruby my ass._

Then Cesar saw Jamal standing with his back against his locker. He rushed up to him. "Yo Jamal!"

Jamal rolled his eyes. "Yes, Cesar?"

"Where the hell were you? You left me hanging!"

"Oh, sorry that I didn't wanna be surrounded by a bunch of sheep chanting All hail Ruby," Jamal said sarcastically.

"And you think I do? This shit is making me look bad!" Cesar replied.

"Well, I guess you better call your big bro to finish the job." 

Cesar rolled his eyes. "That's not funny. I told you that I can handle my own battles."

"Can you? Because you sure as hell ain't handling this!" Jamal argued.

Cesar was taken aback by his anger. "What's your deal?"

"I lost my best friend to some female. _That's_ my deal."

"I didn't want beef with him. He started it," Cesar told him.

"You both are acting like some little kids!" Jamal snapped. "Isabella isn't even all that!"

"I'm not fighting over her. She's dead to me," Cesar replied.

"Good. I just wish Ruby would realize that."

"Did you talk to him today?" Cesar asked.

"I did."

"Well?"

"It went horribly. He's too stuck up his own ass to care about anything," Jamal answered.

"No," Cesar stated.

Jamal looked at him, confused. "What do you mean no?"

"He's too stuck up _her_ ass," Cesar said while pointing down the hall. There stood Ruby and Isabella wearing the shirts with a crowd of students behind them.

Jamal sucked his teeth. "I'm sick of this."

"I'm guessing you didn't tell him about the party?"

Jamal looked annoyed with Cesar. Cesar took the hint. " _Got it._ " 

"I tried. He just doesn't care about me anymore. Maybe he'll listen to you."

Cesar laughed at that statement. "You're joking, right? He hates my guts."

"Then you'll have no issue getting his attention," Jamal said before pushing Cesar towards Ruby.

Cesar quickly turned around and tried to go back to Jamal, but Ruby saw him.

"Well, well, well, look who it is guys," Ruby announced. 

Cesar scowled at Jamal and mouthed, _'I hate you'_ , and then faced Ruby. "Sup Ruby."

"That's King Ruby to you!" a boy corrected.

Cesar rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm not saying that."

Ruby looked at the boy. "Come here, Dave."

Dave stepped forward. "Yes, King Ruby?"

"How about you take the rest of this crowd and find something productive to do," Ruby ordered.

Dave nodded and looked at the crowd. "You heard the King, let's go!"

They all cheered and chanted All hail Ruby as they left. Ruby rubbed his forehead. "I swear if I hear that one more time..."

"What, you don't like it baby?" Isabella asked worriedly.

"I do. I'm just not used to all of this attention," Ruby admitted.

"Well get used to it," Cesar interjected.

Ruby glared at Cesar. "Excuse you?"

"This is what you wanted right? Me out of the picture? Well you got your wish," Cesar replied.

Ruby smirked at him. "And how does that make you feel?"

Cesar clapped slowly. "I'll let you enjoy your fifteen minutes of fame. But I _will_ be back on top."

Ruby snickered. "I'll knock your ass down again. You can't fight, remember?"

Cesar got in Ruby's face with balled fists. "You wanna try that shit again? I'm ready this time." 

"Don't you dare put your hands on him!" Isabella interjected.

"Or what?"

"There will be a crowd of students ready to pounce on your ass!" Isabella threatened. "Try us."

All Ruby did was smirk. 

"I'm going to tell you this one more time, Ruby. This bitch is using you," Cesar warned him.

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!" Ruby yelled.

Cesar threw his hands up angrily. "You know what, I'm done. I didn't come here to argue with you."

"So why are you in my presence?"

"Forget it," Cesar said before walking back to Jamal.

"Don't walk away from me!" Ruby yelled, but Cesar kept walking.

Jamal was still leaning against his locker with crossed arms. "Congrats, you just pissed him off."

"I don't care anymore. If he wants a war, I'll give him one," Cesar stated. He glanced over at Jamal and saw that he looked exasperated. "I tried to give him a chance, Jamal. I really did."

"I'm over it. Good luck with your war," Jamal said before walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," Jamal answered.

"School isn't over yet."

Jamal looked at him earnestly. "Does it look like I care?"

Cesar sighed. "Look Jamal, I really don't give a fuck about Ruby. _But you do._ "

Jamal shrugged sadly. "I don't know about that anymore."

"You do. So I'll help you try to get him back to his normal self."

Jamal looked down the hall at Ruby. "Ruby isn't the problem."

Cesar looked too. "I know. It's _her_."

They both glared at Isabella. She was hugging Ruby but her focus was on them. She smirked at them.

Jamal continued to glare at her as he spoke to Cesar. "She threatened me earlier."

"Welcome to the club." 

Then Ruby and Isabella went their separate ways. Isabella walked up to them. 

"Here you go, Jamal." She threw a shirt at him and he examined it. You already know what it said on it.

Jamal threw the shirt on the floor and stomped on it. "I don't want your shirts!"

Isabella shrugged. "I heard you couldn't afford to buy one. My mom always told me to help the less fortunate."

And then she flipped her hair and walked away.

Jamal's jaw dropped. "Did she just—"

"She did," Cesar confirmed.

Jamal was absolutely furious. "That's it, we have to get rid of that bitch!"

"I think I have a plan," Cesar mentioned.

They both looked at Isabella as she walked down the hall, and it was as if she knew they were watching, because she stuck up her middle finger behind her back, right at them. 

『••✎••』

  
  
Monse arrived in front of her new house later that day. She stared at it in awe. It was much bigger than her old house. 

Monty noticed her dropped jaw. "You like it?"

Monse smiled at the house as she spoke. "I actually do."

Monty was glad to hear that. "See, I knew you would. Let's go inside."

They headed inside the house together. The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside. 

Monse took in her surroundings. She may have hated the idea of moving, but this house alone might've made it worth it.

"Damn dad, you did really good."

Monty chuckled. "And with this new job, there'll be more where that came from. Anyway, you should go unpack. I think you'll really like your room." 

Monse nodded and headed upstairs with her suitcases. When she got to her room, she dropped her bags and her jaw dropped to the floor once again. Her room was three times bigger than her old one!

She jumped up and down in excitement. "Oh my god!" 

Was this a dream?!

She quickly ran back downstairs to her dad.

Monty grew nervous when he saw her running to him. "What's wrong?! You look like you've seen a ghost! Please tell me there aren't ghosts in this house!"

"Are you sure that's not your room?" Monse asked him.

Monty sighed. "Look honey, I know it's not fully decorated but—"

"I love it!" Monse declared. She jumped into his arms and squeezed him tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. I thought you hated it. So...there's no ghost?"

Monse giggled and shook her head. "No, dad. But thank you for all this. It's more than I could ever ask for."

"I told you that you deserve the best."

They shared another heartfelt hug. When they broke up the hug, Monty made a suggestion. "How about you go check out the neighborhood?"

Monse crossed her arms doubtfully. "By myself?"

"Yeah, why not? Freeridge is safe," he told her.

"But I don't know anyone."

"That's never been a problem for you before, has it?" Monty pointed out.

"No it hasn't." Monse paused and bit her lip, considering the idea. "Okay, I'll do it."

Monty clapped. "Great! But be home early! We still have to settle in and you have school tomorrow."

"Wait, seriously? What about my credits?" Monse asked.

Her dad waved his phone around. "I'm about to handle that. Go have fun."

Monse grinned and left the house. It was super warm out compared to in NY.

She looked down her block. There were no teens in sight. Where did the teenagers even hang out?

She walked down her block and looked at the other houses. They were just as beautiful as hers. Suddenly, her phone vibrated.

 **KAYLA :** How's the Cali life?

Monse rolled her eyes playfully. 

**MONSE :** It's not that bad. The house is absolutely beautiful.

 **KAYLA :** You have to show me some pics.

 **MONSE :** Will do.

Monse looked down and touched her necklace. This whole situation felt so unreal but one thing she knew for sure was that she was going to cherish that necklace forever. 

Suddenly, she bumped into someone.

"WATCH IT!" the boy snapped.

Monse quickly apologized. "S-Sorry m-my ba-bad!"

The boy's jaw dropped as he examined her. He found her to be absolutely stunning. "No, you good. That was my fault."

"Oh, okay."

He looked her up and down. "You from around here?"

"I am now," she joked.

He let out a chuckle. "Bet. What's your name?"

"Monse."

"I'm Bobby."

"Nice to meet you, Bobby," Monse said cheerfully. He kept staring at her as if he was completely mesmerized. She waved her hands around in his face, trying to snap him back to reality. "Hello?" 

He snapped back to reality. "Oh shit, my bad! Look, I, uh, I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around, Monse."

"Okay, bye," she said as he quickly ran off. 

She should've been walking off right around now too, but she couldn't get her feet to move. 

She kept staring at the mysterious boy. He had beautiful long brown curly hair. Cutest boy she'd ever seen!

After that, she quickly ran back down the block to her house. She didn't see her dad, so she ran up to her room. She closed the door and called Kayla.

"Hello?" Kayla answered.

"Kayla, you won't believe what I just saw!"

"What?!" Kayla asked curiously.

"The finest dude I've ever seen!" Monse exclaimed. 

Kayla sucked her teeth. "Really? That's nothing new."

"No, he's a whole new level of fine! It's almost as if they're a different breed over here!" Monse told her.

"Send me a pic," Kayla ordered.

"I don't have a pic! That would be weird!"

"Then I don't believe you."

Monse rolled her eyes. "I have to finish packing."

"Fine. Keep me updated about this 'different breed," Kayla joked.

"I sure will," Monse promised before she hung up. 

She laid on her bed and smiled at the ceiling. This move wasn't so bad after all.


	13. GREENLIGHT.

❝ _You don't need me, right? Let's see how long you survive out there without me._ ❞  
  


Cesar went straight home after school. When he got there, he saw Spooky's chick asleep on the couch. He rolled his eyes and knocked on Spooky's bedroom door.

"Come in."

Cesar stepped into the room. Spooky turned around and snickered at Cesar. "Oh, look who it is. _The fraud._ That's what they're calling you, right?"

Cesar huffed. He was so tired of hearing that. "Look, I'm still really sorry."

"I don't want your sorry," Spooky spat.

"There has to be a way to get them to shut up."

"Already handled," Spooky told him.

Cesar's ears perked up. "Wait, really? Then how come they're still calling me a fraud?"

" _I said it's handled._ And if they keep calling you a fraud, just tell me their name and I'll handle it some more."

Cesar gulped. He spoke with a shaky voice. "Who...did you kill?"

"I didn't kill anyone."

"So how is it handled?"

Spooky shrugged. "Sorry, that's confidential."

"Oh come on, I'm a Santo!"

Spooky glared at him. "Don't you ever say that again! You can't even win a simple fight! That boy is embarrassing you and now I'm hearing that everyone's worshiping him like some god! So if I were you, I'd be damn grateful that I handled it at ALL!"

"You said you weren't going to," Cesar recalled. 

"Well I did, since you're obviously incapable of doing it!" Spooky shouted.

"I'm handling it," Cesar told him.

"Oh yeah, how?!"

"Look, I have his best friend Jamal on my side now," Cesar mentioned.

"And what's that going to do?"

Cesar shrugged. "Jamal is loyal. He'll help me take down Ruby. Who knows, maybe he'll even tell me his weaknesses."

Spooky scoffed. "You're the weak one if you can't find that out on your own."

Cesar scowled at him. Why did Spooky always have to belittle him?

Spooky continued talking. "Tell me about this Isabella girl. Isn't she the one that likes you?"

Cesar shook his head. "Not anymore. She's with him now."

"Of course she is. Why _wouldn't_ she choose the winning side?" Spooky retorted. 

"No. I rejected her because of you! And then she fed some bullshit into Ruby's head and now he hates me!"

Spooky looked at him angrily. "So this is my fault?"

"Yes, basically! If I didn't follow your stupid advice about being hard to get, this wouldn't have happened!" Cesar accused.

"Being hard to get has never been a problem for any Santo before. Why was it a problem for you?" Spooky got in his face. "Oh yeah, 'cause you're weak."

Spooky noticed Cesar balling up his fists. He smirked. "You gonna punch me? Why don't you act tough like this with that little boy?"

"For Jamal's sake," Cesar answered.

"Oh, give me a break! You're just using him, remember? Why do you care about his feelings?" Spooky scoffed. "Unless you _actually_ care about him." 

Cesar stayed quiet which gave Spooky all the confirmation he needed. "I thought so." 

Then he went and looked at himself in the mirror. "Did you invite them to the party?"

"Yeah, Jamal's coming," Cesar answered.

"And what about Ruby?"

"He's not invited," Cesar said firmly.

Spooky turned around and looked at his little bro as if he was out of his mind. "Excuse me? You don't call the shots!"

"He's a disrespectful little brat!" Cesar argued.

"That's why I want him here!" Spooky argued back.

"Are you going to hurt him?" Cesar asked.

"I got other plans for him."

"Then no," Cesar objected.

Spooky couldn't believe his ears. "What?"

Cesar crossed his arms. "I'll only invite him if we get to hurt him."

"You're going to invite him because I said so!" Spooky demanded.

"No! I'm done being your shadow! You always talk about how I'm weak, so I'm going to prove I'm not and this is my first step," Cesar announced. "I'm making my own decisions for now on."

"You sure you wanna do that?"

Cesar nodded. "Yup. I'm done."

Spooky pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He kept eye contact with Cesar the entire time. 

"Yo Pablo, homie. What's up?" he spoke. "Na I'm good. Na, no news about the Prophets yet. I'm calling about my brother."

Cesar gulped. Spooky continued. "Make sure you tell all the Santos that if they see my brother, they have permission to fuck him up on sight."

Cesar's eyes widened in horror. Spooky smirked and finished his sentence. " _And make it bloody._ "

Spooky hung up the phone and addressed Cesar. "Now leave."

Cesar was trembling in fear. "Wh-why would yo-you do tha-that?"

"You don't need me, right? Let's see how long you survive out there without me," Spooky said. "Now leave."

"But-but you just sent a hit out on me! I can't go out there!"

"Good luck. Come back when you get some sense," Spooky replied while waving him away.

Cesar shook his head angrily and ran to his room. He grabbed a hoodie and ran out of the house. He looked around his block. 

Good, no Santos in sight. 

He put his hoodie on and kept his head low.

A little while later, he arrived at his destination. He knocked on the door impatiently. Jamal appeared in the doorway and gave Cesar a confused look. "Cesar?"

Cesar looked at him pleadingly. "I need your help."

『••✎••』

"So he really just kicked you out like that? Just because you didn't invite Ruby to the stupid party?" Jamal questioned. They were sitting in his room.

"That's not even the worse part..." Cesar mentioned.

"What could be worse than getting kicked out?"

Cesar looked at him earnestly. "Having the whole Santos gang out for your head." 

Jamal's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. "Yup! That is worse!"

Cesar put his head in his hands, frustratingly. Jamal patted him on the back. "Look, you can stay here if you want."

"No. I know how much your parents hate me."

"I can hide you," Jamal offered.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"So what are you planning?"

"My brother was right about one thing. I need to stop being weak," Cesar started. "If the Santos want to mess with me, then bring it on."

Jamal facepalmed. "That sounds suicidal."

Cesar shrugged. "So be it. I have to get my credibility back."

"That still doesn't answer the main question...Where are you going to stay?" 

"I'm going back home," Cesar stated.

Jamal furrowed his eyebrows. "You're gonna give in? But you just said your credibility—"

"I'm not giving in," Cesar interrupted.

"So how can you go back?"

Cesar was getting annoyed with all of the questions. "Enough questions, Jamal. I have a question for you now."

"What?"

"You were Ruby's friend for how long?" Cesar asked.

Jamal smiled at the thought. "First day of freshman year. Nobody wanted to hang with us, so we decided to hang with each other." Jamal started tearing up. "I miss him, man. The _old_ him."

"Do you remember any of his weaknesses?" Cesar asked, trying not to seem too suspicious.

Jamal tilted his head as he thought. "Ruby's strong, believe it or not. He doesn't have any weaknesses...except for one."

"What?!" Cesar asked eagerly.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve," Jamal revealed.

"Meaning?"

"He openly shows his feelings. He also gets heartbroken easily and he falls in love fast. _Way too fast_ , as you can see," Jamal explained.

A lightbulb went off in Cesar's head. He had the perfect idea. "Thank you, Jamal!"

He quickly got up and ran out of the room.

Jamal chased after him. "Wait!"

"You've been a big help, trust me! We'll get your friend back!" Cesar told him as he ran down the stairs. 

He ran to the front door and opened it. To their dismay, Jamal's parents were standing on the other side of the door. 

"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING HERE?!?" Mrs. Turner yelled.

Cesar quickly ran past them. Jamal's parents walked inside and slammed the door angrily. "You wanna tell us what that boy was doing in our home?!"

Jamal sighed and rubbed his forehead. _Shit_. 


	14. FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME.

❝ _Cesar's going to get a lot of respect around here again_ ❞

Friday morning, Ruby swung his bag over his shoulder and quickly sped out of his room, headed for the front door. "Bye ma!"  
  
"Nu-uh! Come here, boy!" Geny demanded. 

Ruby sucked his teeth and went to the kitchen. "Yes?"

Geny checked his face. "Okay, you're good to go."

Ruby rolled his eyes. "I haven't fought since that day, ma."

"And you better not fight anymore! Especially not with Cesar. Your principal is concerned about you and so am I." 

"Well, tell the principal there's nothing to worry about. Cesar's not a threat. I beat him up, remember? If anything, people fear _me_ now," Ruby said with a sly smirk.

"And you think that makes you safe? You're an even bigger target now," Geny warned. 

"I'll take them all out if I have to," Ruby challenged.

His mother rolled her eyes. "Where's Jamal? I haven't seen him lately."

"Um..."

Then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, look! That's him right now!" Ruby quickly said. He rushed to the door. "Bye ma!"

"WAIT! Let me speak to him!" Geny yelled after him, but Ruby quickly closed the door.

He spoke to Isabella. "Let's go before she looks out the window."

"You still didn't tell her about Jamal?" Isabella asked.

"Nope, and I never will."

『••✎••』

They arrived at school. As usual, there was a group of students standing on the steps ready to greet him. But something was different today. They weren't saying anything to him.

Ruby scanned around with a puzzled look. "Um, are they blind?"

"ARE YOU BITCHES BLIND?!" Isabella yelled. Everyone looked at her with a startled expression. She didn't care though. She continued her shouting. "Where's the respect around here?!"

"Hello, Ruby," the students said in unison. They spoke quietly as if they were scared of being heard.

Ruby waved at everyone, still a little confused as to why everyone was acting weird, and headed inside the school with Isabella. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

"Yes I did. I don't know why they're acting brand new today," Isabella replied. 

They scanned the halls. Only some of the students acknowledged his presence and waved at him. Then they saw Dave standing at his locker. Isabella strode up to him angrily and slammed him against the locker.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Woah, babe! Calm down!"

"I thought we had an agreement?!?" she said to Dave.

Dave had a petrified look on his face. "W-We d-did!"

"So why is no one wearing their shirts?!"

"I don't know! I gave them the memo!" 

She let go of him and looked at his shirt. "You're not even wearing it either!"

Dave took the shirt out of his bag. "I took it off when I saw no one else was wearing it."

Isabella snatched it from him. "Are you kidding me?!?! You're messing up the design!"

"You ever stop to think that maybe they're waiting on _you_ to put it on first?" Ruby asked Dave. Dave shrugged.

"Put it on, Dave," Ruby ordered. Dave put the shirt on.

"Now do your job," Isabella added.

Dave took a step forward and cleared his throat. "PUT ON YOUR SHIRTS, GUYS! THE KING HAS ARRIVED!"

The students looked at him blankly and then looked away. Ruby was baffled. "What the hell?"

"See, they don't care," Dave replied.

"But why?"

"Because of Cesar," a voice behind them said. They turned around and saw a random boy.

"What do you know?" Isabella asked him.

"Cesar's brother Spooky is behind this. He has everyone spooked," the boy informed them.

"Well duh, his name _is_ Spooky after all," Ruby retorted.

Isabella gave him a quick glare. Then she focused back on the boy. "What did he do?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that you shouldn't expect any more people to worship you two. Not unless they have a death wish. Cesar's going to get a lot of respect around here again," the boy warned. 

They all looked down the hall at Cesar. Ruby headed towards him angrily but the boy stopped him. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. Trust me."

Ruby looked at Cesar again. Cesar glanced at him and then walked off. Ruby was visibly fuming. 

"Oh, he's so going down. _Again_."

『••✎••』

Monse looked around for her locker. This school was so gigantic compared to her old one.

After five minutes of walking around, she finally found it. She entered her combination but it didn't work. She tried ten more times. Still didn't work. 

_Oh come the fuck on!_

She looked around the hallway and saw students laughing at her struggle.

"Need help?" someone behind her asked. 

She jumped, a little startled by their voice. "Yes, please!"

"What's your combination?"

She handed him the paper. He entered the combination. It didn't work.

"This'll take just a second," he told her. Next thing she knew, he was banging on the locker. 

She looked around the hall nervously, hoping that no one was watching. 

They were. 

" _Um, is this necessary?_ " she whispered.

He pulled on the handle with all of his might. The locker flew open, sending him crashing to the floor.

Monse gasped and quickly rushed to his side. "Are you okay?!"

He nodded. He stood up and brushed himself off. Then he spoke to her. "I hate to break it to you, but you have the shitty locker."

Monse sucked her teeth. "Great, that's just what I needed."

"You're the new girl, huh?"

"How do you know?"

"Well, I've never seen you before. And apparently I'm your escort for the day. What's your name?"

"Monse. And you?"

"Jamal Turner."

She shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Jamal."

"Class is about to start," he told her.

"Oh." She looked down at her schedule. "I have English."

"Great, I do too! Let's walk together."

She agreed and they headed to English. They made conversation along the way. "So, what brings you to Freeridge High School?"

"My father," Monse quickly answered. 

Jamal laughed hysterically. She looked at him, confused. Jamal noticed her facial expression. "Oh, you're serious."

" _Very_. At first I was unsure, but this school is definitely nicer than my old one," she admitted.

"Enjoy it while you can," Jamal warned.

"What do you mean?"

"Shit gets crazy real fast around here."

Monse scoffed. "Trust me, I've dealt with crazy. There was this girl named Jasmine at my old school. She was such a pain in the ass."

"Well, there's a whole lot more Jasmine's at this school. Trust me," Jamal said while entering the English room. Monse gulped and followed him.

"Good morning, Jamal. Oh, and you must be Monse Finnie," Mrs. Garcia greeted. 

"I am."

"Well, we are happy to have you at our school. I hope you have a wonderful school year," Mrs. Garcia said politely. 

Monse smiled. The teachers here were so nice! "Thank you so much!"

"Come on, let's sit," Jamal said.

"Actually Jamal, we're doing group work today. Your partner is..." Mrs. Garcia checked her paper. "...Isabella!"

Jamal faked a smile. " _Yaaaay_."

"And Monse...you came last minute so I don't have a partner for you," Mrs. Garcia admitted. Monse frowned. 

A boy in the back of the room sprung up from his seat and raised his hand. "She can be my partner!"

Jamal and Monse looked at the boy. His presence made Monse smile. However, Jamal had a horrified expression on his face.

"Oh, that's right. Latrelle has returned to school today. You can be his partner."

" **LATRELLE?!** " Monse and Jamal shouted in unison.

"Yes, Latrelle. Go take your seats please," Mrs. Garcia ordered.

Monse began walking to her seat. Jamal grabbed her arm and whispered, " _Be careful._ " Then he went to sit next to obnoxious Isabella. 

Monse swallowed hard. Be careful of what?

Latrelle sat down when Monse walked up to him. He gave her a charming smile. "Hey, girl."

Monse stared at him earnestly. "I thought your name was Bobby?"

"Oh yeah, sorry about that," Latrelle apologized.

"You know, friendships should be built on honesty."

Latrelle shrugged. "I had to make sure you weren't a fed."

Monse furrowed her eyebrows. "Why would you be worried about the feds?"

Latrelle chuckled. "Yeah, I can tell you're not from here."

"I'm not. I'm an east coast girl."

Latrelle raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yup. NY to be exact," she said.

Latrelle was impressed. "I never met a NY girl."

"Well now you have," Monse said with a smile. Latrelle smiled back.

Meanwhile, Jamal was watching Monse like a hawk. Isabella leaned over to him. "You worried about your little girlfriend?"

"Do you ever shut up?" Jamal retorted.

"Do I have to tell Ruby you're being mean to me?"

Jamal rolled his eyes. "That's funny because from what I hear, he's not the man anymore."

Isabella got angry. "Who told you that?"

Jamal smirked. "Everybody. It looks like he can't be your little lap dog anymore."

"I can still get him to fuck you up," she threatened.

Jamal fake yawned. "Yeah, yeah." He looked at Monse again. She was having a blast with Latrelle.

"You know, Latrelle and I had a thing going on once," Isabella shared.

Jamal looked her up and down in disgust. "I bet you have." He turned around and shook his head.

_Just nasty!_

"He's not as scary as you think," Isabella continued. 

"The boy is ruthless. On a whole nother level," Jamal told her.

She shrugged. "That's what I liked."

Jamal gagged. "Okay, please don't tell Ruby this. Actually... _I might._ "

Isabella leaned back in her chair. "I can probably get Ruby to fuck him up too. If I wanted to."

"So why don't you?" Jamal wondered. 

"Cause you're right. He's ruthless."

"See!" Jamal agreed.

"And he's the complete opposite of Cesar," Isabella added.

"I know right! Finally something we agree on!" 

"Yeah. He actually doesn't miss," she finished.

Jamal looked at her in horror. "Cesar only missed because I stepped in."

Isabella snickered. "I'm not talking about a stupid fist fight."

"Then what are you talking about?" Jamal asked nervously.

She smirked at him. "Bullets." 

Jamal's heart suddenly started racing fast. He turned around and looked at Latrelle. Latrelle was smirking at him. 

Jamal quickly turned back around and prayed that he would make it out of the classroom alive. 


	15. HANDS UP, MONEY OUT.

❝ _The Prophets are back in action._ ❞

  
At the end of the class, Jamal was the first one out of the door. He heard Monse calling after him but he ignored her. Ever heard of the fight or flight response? Well, Jamal was in flight mode.

He ran through the halls looking for Cesar. When he finally found him, he grabbed him and pulled him to the side. Cesar was happy to see him.

"Jamal! I was looking for you! I have the perfect plan to get Ruby back!"

Jamal was completely out of breath. He was panicking so badly, he could barely even speak.

"Jamal, what's wrong? JAMAL!" Cesar asked worriedly.

"Latrelle.Is.Back," Jamal said slowly.

Cesar's heart dropped. "What did you just say?" 

"Look!" Jamal said while pointing down the hall.

Cesar's jaw dropped as he looked down the hall. Latrelle was heading in their direction with some girl he'd never seen before. 

Cesar quickly ducked his head. _Shit_!

"HANDS UP—" Latrelle started.

"MONEY OUT!" some students finished out of fear.

Latrelle smirked. "That's right."

Jamal paced back and forth in full panic mode. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening."

Cesar grabbed him by the shoulders. "Chill out! We don't want him seeing us!" 

"Do you know what this shit means?!?!" Jamal fretted.

Cesar looked at Latrelle once more. This was the one moment that he always dreaded. "Yeah...." He looked back at Jamal and swallowed hard. "The Prophets are back in action." 

  
『••✎••』

Monse was still in the hall with Latrelle. She was looking for Jamal but couldn't find him. Why did he run out of the class so fast?

Latrelle looked over at her and realized she was searching around frantically. "Who you looking for?"

"Jamal," she answered.

"Jamal Turner?"

Monse gasped. "You know him?!"

Latrelle smirked slyly. "I know him too well."

"Do you know where he is? He's supposed to be showing me around."

"You don't need that lame. I'll show you around instead," Latrelle offered. He held his hand out. 

Monse couldn't help but blush. What was it about Latrelle that made her so weak? 

She put her hand in his and smiled.

"Well, what now?" he asked. 

Monse took out her schedule. "Well, according to this paper it's lunch time."

"Bet. Follow me," Latrelle said. He held her hand all the way to the lunchroom. Monse didn't know what to think about it. It was just a friendly gesture, right?

When they got there, Latrelle's phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket, looked at the caller, and huffed. "Shit, I gotta take this. Just find a table or something."

"Okay then..." Monse said awkwardly as Latrelle walked out. She looked around the lunchroom for Jamal.

"MONSE!" Jamal called from his table. She ran up to him. He quickly got up and squeezed her tight. "Oh, I'm so glad you're safe!"

"What the hell, Jamal?! Where were you?"

"I had to do something. Sorry," Jamal lied.

"You ran out of that classroom like you saw a ghost or something," Monse joked.

Jamal gulped. "Trust me, I saw something far worse."

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Latr—"

Jamal was interrupted by Cesar who was walking up to them with his tray in his hands. "YO!" 

Jamal stomped his foot angrily. "I swear if I get interrupted one more time!"

Cesar backed up a little. "My bad?" 

"Whatever, forget it," Jamal said before sitting down.

Monse and Cesar also sat down. Cesar nudged his head towards Monse. "And who is this?"

"I'm Monse. Who are you?"

"I'm Cesar."

Monse smiled. "Nice to meet you, Cesar."

"You new around here?" he asked.

"Yeah, I just moved here."

"Really? From where?" Cesar asked curiously.

"NY."

"Damn that's far," Jamal chimed in.

"I know. I hated the idea at first," Monse admitted.

"And now you love it?" Cesar asked.

Monse shrugged. "It's not as bad as I thought. This school is much bigger and the people are nicer."

Cesar burst out laughing. Jamal and Monse looked at him unamusedly. Cesar noticed that they weren't laughing. "Oh, you're serious."

"She's very serious," Jamal answered. "Trust me, I made that mistake too."

Monse giggled. "I see why you guys are friends." Then she looked around. "Where are your other friends?"

"This is it," Jamal said.

"Really?"

Cesar shrugged. "Pretty much. Apple?"

Monse gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

"You want my apple?"

Jamal smacked the apple onto the floor. "Nobody wants your apple!"

Cesar looked down at the apple with a dropped jaw. Then he faced Jamal. "The apple didn't deserve that!" 

Monse just laughed.

"Anyway, we have important things to talk about with you, Monse. Right, Cesar?" Jamal mentioned. Cesar was busy drinking his milk. Jamal elbowed him.

"Ow! Yeah, yeah we do."

"Like what?" Monse asked. She continued to search around once more.

"Who are you looking for?" Jamal wondered.

"Latrelle."

Cesar's eyes shot open.

"Remember, Jamal? He's in our class!" Monse added.

"I think you should stop searching for him," Cesar suggested.

"Why?"

"He's a dangerous guy, Monse," Jamal warned.

Monse dismissed their warnings. "Oh please, how could he possibly be dangerous? He's dope!"

Jamal and Cesar exchanged a look. Just then, the lunchroom doors swung open and Latrelle stepped in with a little posse behind him. "Hands up, Money out!"

"Oh look, there he is! LATRELLE!" Monse shouted.

"NOOOOOOO!" Jamal quickly covered her mouth.

Cesar was freaking out. He quickly stood up with his tray. "Yeah, that's my cue to go!"

"Where the hell are you going?!" Jamal questioned.

"Getting the fuck out of dodge!" Cesar answered before he rushed off.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Jamal yelled after him.

Meanwhile, Monse was completely confused. "Can someone please tell me what's the big deal?! Are yall beefing with him?"

"Something like that," Jamal said sheepishly. "Just promise to stay away from him."

"Jamal, Latrelle is actually a cool guy. I had a whole conversation with him."

"Whatever he told you, he's lying," Jamal warned her.

Monse thought about it. "Well, he did lie about his name."

"SEE! He can't be trusted!"

Monse shrugged. "But he said he was just making sure that I wasn't a fed."

Jamal facepalmed. "And that's not a RED FLAG for you?!"

Monse thought about it. "Why would he be worried about the feds anyway?" Jamal just sighed. "Tell me, Jamal," she demanded.

Jamal glanced over at Latrelle, who was looking around for Monse. "We need to go, now. Keep your head down."

"What? No."

"NOW!" Jamal said before grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the lunchroom.

Monse looked back at Latrelle as Jamal dragged her out. What the hell was going on in Freeridge?


	16. THE REAL REASON.

❝ _I met these two boys named Jamal and Cesar. They seem to have a lot of secrets and a whole lot more of opinions._ ❞

  
Ruby stormed through the halls. He couldn't believe that he was no longer the king of Freeridge High School. Now everyone acted like he didn't exist. They were too scared to even look his way!

Ruby was definitely not happy about that. 

He was on his way to his locker when he saw a girl pounding on the principal's office door.

"HELLO?" the girl shouted.

"Um, you know he's not in there, right?" Ruby informed her.

The girl turned around, startled. "Yeah, I figured. Hey, do you know someone named Jamal Turner?"

Ruby rolled his eyes. "I sure do. What do you want with him?"

"I can't find him, _again_. He's supposed to be showing me around."

"Forget him, he's unreliable. I can show you around if you want," Ruby offered.

The girl smiled. "Yeah, that'll be great."

"Have you seen the gym yet?" Ruby asked.

"Nope."

"Alright, let's go. It's downstairs." 

Ruby led her to the gym. He made conversation along the way. "So, who are you?" Then he looked at her necklace. "Kayla, I'm guessing?"

"I'm Monse, and you are?"

"Monse. That's a very unique name. I'm Ruby."

"Ruby? That's very... _pretty_."

Ruby looked offended. Monse just laughed. "I'm joking!"

Ruby focused on her necklace. "How come your necklace says Kayla then?"

"My BFF back home gave this to me," she answered.

"Well, today must be your first day. I've never seen you before."

"It sure is."

"How you liking it so far?" Ruby asked.

Monse shrugged. "It's pretty good. Except for the occasional weirdness."

"What weirdness?"

"I met these two boys named Jamal and Cesar. They seem to have a lot of secrets and a whole lot more of opinions," Monse replied.

Ruby rolled his eyes. "More than you know."

"You know them?"

"Everyone does. Do yourself a favor and avoid them," Ruby told her.

"You sound just like them."

"I'm offended," Ruby said.

Monse just chuckled.

"Why were you even at the principal's office anyway?" he continued.

"To talk about my credits," she answered.

"Oh, right. _Credits_."

"Yeah. I was told that they weren't going to transfer over from my NY school, but they did surprisingly," she explained.

"Wait, New York?" Ruby repeated in disbelief. "Damn girl, you fancy!"

Monse laughed and nodded her head. "Something like that."

"RUBYYYYYY!" Isabella shouted as she walked up to them.

Ruby cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. When he broke the kiss he said, "Hey!"

Isabella looked at him angrily. "All I get is a hey?"

"Hey, beautiful?"

Isabella rolled her eyes. Then she crossed her arms as she stared at Monse. "Who's she?"

Monse introduced herself. "Oh, I'm Monse. You were in my English class."

"I asked him, not you," Isabella spat.

Monse was a little taken aback by her hostility. "Um, okay?"

"Chill Bella, I'm just showing her around," Ruby interjected.

"She has two eyes. I'm pretty sure she can find her own way around," Isabella retorted.

"Look, I'll go since it's such a big deal," Monse responded.

"It's not," Ruby assured her.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Can I talk to my boyfriend in private, Moose?"

"It's Monse," Monse corrected. Isabella gave her a death stare. Monse put her hands up in defeat and moved away. She really didn't feel like fighting on her first day.

"Why are you acting like that?!" Ruby hissed.

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't hanging out with her!" Isabella argued.

"I'm just being kind."

"Since when are you kind? You're supposed to be controlling the school!" Isabella replied.

"Yeah well, I can't do that if everyone's too scared to look at me."

Isabella smirked. "Don't worry, we're going to get our cred back."

Ruby's interest was piqued. "How?"

"Cesar's having a party tonight," Isabella informed him.

Ruby gasped dramatically. "WHAT? How do you know?!"

"Everyone's talking about it. And we were the only ones that weren't invited."

"Well, fuck that! You already know what we're about to do," Ruby said.

"And what is that?"

Ruby crossed his arms and smirked. "We're crashing that shit."

Isabella grinned. "That's what I like to hear!"

Monse walked back up to them. "Are you guys done now?"

"No we are not, right babe?" Isabella asked, waiting for an answer from Ruby, but she never got one.

They both looked at Ruby. Ruby was looking down the hallway in complete shock.

"Ruby? You okay?" Monse asked worriedly.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Isabella asked with equal worry.

They followed Ruby's gaze and saw Latrelle heading their way. "Monse!" 

"Oh hey, Latrelle!" She hugged him. "Sorry, I wasn't at lunch."

"Where were you? You left me hanging."

"I just had to finalize some things," Monse lied.

Ruby was still frozen in place with his mouth wide open. Latrelle closed his mouth for him. "You okay there, buddy? You look pale," he joked. Ruby started trembling. 

"Come on Monse, I wanna talk to you about something," Latrelle said while grabbing her hand.

"Alright, I'll see you around Ruby."

"Oh yeah. Ruby. I'm really sorry for taking the crown away from you bro." Latrelle snickered and walked off with Monse.

Isabella looked at Ruby. He stopped shaking. "You can't freeze up like that, baby! He'll know you're scared of him."

Ruby watched Latrelle walk away. "Bella."

"Yes?"

"I don't think Spooky is the only reason why everyone's acting differently," he stated.

"Of course he is! Cesar's bitch ass made him do something!"

Ruby shook his head. "Na, I don't think so."

"Then who else could possibly be behind this?"

Ruby only said one word. "Latrelle." 


	17. STILL FAMILY.

❝ _My friends here are my family too, and if you can't accept that, then I don't know what to tell you._ ❞

"And I just don't know what to do bro," Jamal told Cesar. They were sitting in class talking about Monse.

"Just tell her straight up," Cesar suggested.

"I try man, but Monse doesn't listen for shit!"

Cesar shrugged. "Then I don't know."

Jamal gave him a displeased look. "Can you at least _act_ like you're interested in this convo?"

"I honestly can't focus right now. Between Latrelle coming back, my brother hating me, and this damn party tonight, I don't know what to do," Cesar said with a sigh.

"I really don't get why your brother is tripping like that. It's just a party."

Cesar looked at Jamal and swallowed hard. If only he could tell him the true meaning of the party.

"Well, did you invite Ruby?" Jamal continued.

"Are you crazy?! Hell no!"

"That's literally all you have to do."

"No, Jamal. I'm not giving in," Cesar said firmly.

Jamal smelled something foul. He sniffed Cesar and then covered his nose. "Is that _you_?"

Cesar rolled his eyes. "I don't exactly have access to a shower right now. I didn't go back home."

"And we just came from gym," Jamal noted. " _Damn_."

"Okay it's not that serious," Cesar said while sniffing himself. The stench was foul. " _Okay, maybe it is._ "

Jamal nodded vigorously while covering his nose. "You better make sure Monse doesn't smell you. She'll never like you then." 

Cesar quickly looked at him. "What?"

"Oh come on. I see the way you look at her."

Cesar fixated on his desk, trying to avoid eye contact. "We're just friends." 

"That doesn't change the fact that you're feeling her."

Cesar shrugged. "She's just refreshing to be around."

"Cause she's not from here."

"Exactly. And she's completely clueless. She needs to stay that way," Cesar told him.

"What? No, we need to warn her about Latrelle!"

"What ABOUT HIM?!" Cesar yelled. Everyone in the class looked at them suspiciously.

"That he's a... _Prophet_ ," Jamal whispered.

"If you tell her about him, she's going to find out about me too," Cesar reminded him.

"You're not in the gang."

"I'm connected, Jamal. You think she'll still wanna be near me?"

Jamal sighed. "You must really like her."

"Stop."

"No, seriously. I thought you didn't care about what people think of you?" Jamal recalled.

Cesar sighed. "It's different now."

"Cause you caught feelings."

"I don't catch feelings," Cesar retorted.

Jamal was unconvinced. "Is that so? You caught feelings for Isabella."

"You've officially lost your mind," Cesar fired back. "Did you forget that the whole reason for this drama was because I rejected her?!"

"You can keep telling people that. But do _you_ believe that?" Jamal said.

Cesar thought about it. He knew that wasn't the truth. He looked at Jamal and shook his head. "You're too smart for your own good."

Jamal smirked. "Yeah, I know. But I don't get it...if you did like her, why did you reject her? All of this could've been avoided."

"Cause it's not the Santos way."

"What does that mean?" Jamal asked. But before Cesar could answer, the principal walked in.

"Sorry to bother you, but I need Jamal," the principal announced.

"For what?" Jamal asked nervously.

"Let's go, Jamal."

Jamal stood up slowly and grabbed his things. All eyes were on him which made him even more nervous. 

He made his way to the door and left the class with the Principal. As they walked to his office, Jamal spoke. "Where are we going?" 

"To my office."

"Look, I assure you, I did nothing wrong!" Jamal promised.

The principal laughed at his unnecessary nervousness. "You're not in trouble."

Jamal let out a relieved breath. "Thank god."

"Where is Monse? Have you been showing her around?"

"Yeah, I think she's settling in pretty well. Way better than I did at least," Jamal answered.

"I still remember that first day. You and Ruby were inseparable."

Jamal gulped. Too bad that was no longer the case. 

"Here we are," the principal announced. He opened the door.

"JAMAL TURNER!" a very familiar woman yelled.

" _Mom_?" Jamal uttered. "Why are you here?"

"Why am I hearing that you're roaming the halls with that Santos boy?!" Mrs. Turner asked angrily.

Jamal huffed. "I told you, Cesar is my friend."

His mother grabbed his arm. "Not anymore he's not!"

"What are you doing?!"

"We are leaving and you are not stepping foot in this school again!"

"Mrs. Turner, I'm sure that we can talk about this," the principal interjected.

"YOU, be quiet! How could you let that monster Latrelle step foot in this school?!" she argued.

Jamal's ears perked up. "How do you know about Latrelle?"

Mrs. Turner explained herself. "Word on the street is that he's back to finish some unfinished business, and I'll be damned if that business involves you! Now let's go!"

She grabbed his arm again but he escaped her grasp. "I'm not going anywhere! Latrelle hasn't said a word to me!"

"So let's leave and keep it that way!"

Jamal stood his ground. "I'm not leaving, mother. That's final."

His mother had frustrated tears in her eyes. "Don't you see what these boys are doing to you?! They're making you have no regard for your own life!"

Jamal exhaled deeply. "Mom, I'm not in danger. I promise."

"Do you love me, Jamal?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course I do."

"Then let's leave right now! We can find you a new school!"

"No, mom! This is where I belong!"

Mrs. Turner grew angry. "I thought I raised you better than this! Family comes first, remember?"

"My friends here are my family too, and if you can't accept that, then I don't know what to tell you," he spat. 

He headed out of the office after those words. His mother called after him but he ignored her. 

He walked back to class and thought about what he had just said. Was Ruby his family still? Yeah, he was. 

Ruby was being a pain in the ass lately, but it was just a phase. Nothing could stop Jamal from caring about him. That was his day one.

Jamal halted when he saw Ruby drinking water at the water fountain. Ruby lifted his head up and stared at him. They stared at each other for a while, not saying a word.

Jamal wanted to say something, but decided to walk away instead. As he left, he felt Ruby still staring him down.

 _It's not the right time_ , Jamal told himself, and then he walked into the classroom.

Maybe this was for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you have talked to Ruby if you were Jamal?


	18. OUT FOR BLOOD.

❝ _Latrelle’s back._ ❞

  
It was finally the end of the school day. Cesar got his stuff out of his locker and looked around. He had to hurry up and put his plan into motion.   


He walked around the halls slowly, looking for **her**. He couldn't see **her** yet. He waited for a couple more minutes and saw **her** coming out of the bathroom. 

_Bingo!_

He followed her cautiously. She went into the stairwell. 

_Time to strike._

He quickly entered the stairwell and pushed her against the wall.

"What the hell, Cesar?!" she shrieked.

"Stop fucking with me!" Cesar shouted.

"You're a lunatic!"

"Threaten me again and you'll see what happens!" Cesar threatened.

Isabella was absolutely terrified. She pushed him off her. "You must want me to get Ruby on your ass again!"

"And you must want me to get Latrelle on yours!" Cesar fired back.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Latrelle hates your ass." She started walking away.

"He does. But he'll hate you way more when I tell him what you did."

Isabella's heart dropped. She stopped walking and turned around. "I didn't do shit!"

"I mean, you're the reason why he went to Juvie, are you not?" Cesar recalled.

Isabella inhaled sharply. "How do you know about that?"

Cesar snickered. "I know more than you think. Snitch."

Isabella defended herself. "I did what I had to do."

Cesar paced back and forth as he spoke. "You know what they think about snitches in these streets."

She swallowed hard. "I do."

"But you did it anyway."

"I had to! That was my only way out!" Isabella cried out.

Cesar took out his phone and shrugged. "I hope he sees it that way." 

"Please don't tell him! I'll do anything!" Isabella pleaded.

"I only want one thing from you," Cesar mentioned.

"Anything," she said.

"I want you to be honest with me," Cesar replied. She nodded her head in agreement. "Do you really like Ruby?"

She rolled her eyes. "You already know the answer to this."

"ANSWER!"

Isabella exhaled deeply. She stared down at her shoes as she spoke. "I liked you, Cesar. And yeah, I'll admit that when you pushed me away it hurt. I knew how much Ruby hated you and how much he loved me, so I used him to my advantage."

"Keep talking," Cesar ordered.

"I used him to make you jealous, but that obviously isn't working. But now...half of me does like Ruby. He's a great guy," she finished.

"And the other half?"

"Still taking advantage of him..." Isabella admitted.

Cesar shook his head in disgust. "You're awful, you know that? That boy really loves you!"

She frowned. "I know, and I feel bad about it every day. But I can't break his heart."

"You already have."

"What?"

"I'm done talking to you," Cesar said harshly. He began walking off.

"WAIT!" she called after him.

"What, Isabella?"

"Please don't tell Latrelle," she pleaded again.

Cesar smirked. "Sure thing."

He walked down the stairs and looked down at his phone. He ended the voice recording. 

_Got it._

Suddenly, he bumped into someone.

"Oh geez, Cesar!" Monse shrieked.

Cesar tried his hardest to control his excitement. "Oh hey, Monse. Why are you going upstairs? You know school's over, right?" he joked.

Monse giggled and rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah, I'm not that clueless. I left my sweater."

"Oh shit, my bad. I don't want to hold you up," Cesar said while moving out of the way.

Monse smiled at him. "Thank you. Are you okay? You seem really happy."

"Damn, a dude can't be happy now?"

"You know I didn't mean it like that. You just always seem so...serious," Monse stated.

Cesar shrugged. "I don't know. You're just relaxing. I can be myself around you, you know?"

Monse nodded. "Yeah, I know how that feels. Don't tell anyone I said this but," She leaned in closer. " _That's how I feel with Latrelle._ "

Cesar felt his heart break into a million pieces.

"But everyone keeps warning me about him and I don't know why," she added. Then she looked at Cesar, who looked completely devastated. "Um Cesar, you okay?"

Cesar cleared his throat and tried to maintain his composure. "Yeah, I'm good...um, I'm happy for you."

Monse smiled. "Thank you."

"Um, you should probably get going now."

"Yeah, probably. It was nice talking to you." She walked up the steps but turned back around. "Oh, wait. I don't have your number."

"Why would you need my number?" Cesar said harshly out of spite.

Monse was hurt by his words. "Oh? I just wanted to keep in touch, but forget it."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Cesar apologized. He put his number in her phone. "There you go. I'll be expecting a text."

"You _will_ be getting one," Monse assured him. "And one more thing, have you seen Jamal?"

"No, he probably left already. His mom showed up and he seemed pissed."

Monse frowned. "Damn. Well, okay then. I wanted his number too."

"Well, if you really want to see him, you should come to my party tonight," Cesar suggested.

Monse looked at him curiously. "You're throwing a party?"

Cesar nodded. "I am and Jamal will be there."

"Then count me in," Monse agreed.

"Bet, just text me later and I'll tell you the address."

"Alright. See you later, Cesar." She waved goodbye and went upstairs.

" _You sure will,_ " he murmured. 

He watched her walk up the stairs and disappear into the hallway. He sighed. She was so perfect. 

If Latrelle thought he was going to date her, he had another thing coming.

『••✎••』

A couple of minutes later, Cesar was on his way home. He looked at his phone. Still no text from Monse. What if she decided not to text him? Why didn't he get her number too?!

_Ugh, I'm an idiot!_

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He didn't recognize the number.

 **UNKNOWN :** Your turn. Address?

Cesar grinned and texted her his address.

"Yo, bitch!" someone yelled from behind him.

Cesar's face got pale. He knew that voice from anywhere. He began walking faster.

"I'm talking to your bitch ass!" Latrelle yelled. "I know you hear me!"

Cesar looked over his shoulder and saw Latrelle break out into a sprint. His eyes widened. 

He began running for his life. He ran from block to block.

"WHY YOU RUNNING?!" Latrelle yelled, still chasing him.

Cesar ran faster and faster. He had to hurry up and reach his block. 

『••✎••』

Minutes later, they were still running. Cesar was running out of breath. Luckily he reached his block.

He turned around and saw Latrelle standing a fair distance away. Cesar smirked. Latrelle knew this was Santos territory.

"YOU A BITCH!" Latrelle spat before walking away.

Cesar took deep breaths, trying to regain his breathing. Then he heard gunshots close by. Was that Latrelle?! 

He didn't want to stay and find out. He ran to his house and quickly opened the door. He slammed the door and leaned against it, trying to gather his breath back.

Spooky scowled at him. "I thought I told your ass not to come back?!" 

Cesar looked around and saw a couple of other Santos there. "Latrelle's back," he quickly told them. All of their eyes shot open.

"What did you just say?" Spooky questioned.

"Latrelle's back. He just chased me over here," Cesar repeated.

Spooky paced back and forth and shook his head. "This ain't good. Oh no, this ain't good."

Cesar put his hands on his head. He said what everyone was thinking. "The Prophets are back in action."

"What did Latrelle say to you?!" Spooky asked urgently.

Cesar was running his fingers through his hair. He couldn't handle this bombshell. Spooky grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Cesar, focus! What did he want?!"

"I-I don't know. All I know is that he's back and-" Cesar silenced and stared at Spooky worriedly.

"And what?! Talk, boy!"

Cesar swallowed hard and said, "and...he's out for blood."


	19. GIVE THEM HELL.

❝ _Let's give them hell._ ❞

Ruby was walking home from school. He wanted to walk with Isabella but she wasn't up for it. Something was up with her, but Ruby shrugged it off. They were going to meet up soon anyway.

Who Ruby was focused on right now was Jamal. He took out his phone and looked at his lock screen. He still had a picture of himself and Jamal.

He quickly put his phone away and shook his head. He wasn't about to do this right now.

When he got home, he opened the door and said, "Ma, I'm home!"

Geny scurried up to him. "Oh Ruby, there you are! How was school? You didn't get into any fights, did you?"

"No ma, I didn't. And school was boring," Ruby said while throwing his backpack down.

"Why was it boring?"

"No one paid any attention to me," Ruby grumbled. He slumped down in a chair.

Geny frowned. "Oh, baby. Don't worry about them. You're only there to learn anyway."

Ruby looked at his mom sadly. "You don't get it, ma. This is the first time I actually felt like I was worth something."

"Ruby, please don't talk like this. You're worth everything."

Ruby continued wallowing in his own self pity. "Cesar was right. My fifteen minutes of fame is up."

That made Geny angry. "Cesar isn't right about shit! He wouldn't even be somebody if it wasn't for his brother!" 

That elicited a chuckle from Ruby despite his foul mood. Geny also let out a laugh. "You know it's true, too." 

Ruby needed that laugh. He felt a little better. "Thanks, ma."

"Anytime, honey. Maybe you should invite Jamal over? I miss him being around here."

Ruby sighed because he did too. "Actually ma, me and Jamal are about to go shopping for this party tonight."

Geny clapped excitedly. "That's good, Ruby! Whose party?"

"Oh, um. It's Jamal's party," Ruby lied.

"Oh? I didn't know Jamal's parents allowed him to do that."

Ruby shrugged. "They do now. K, gotta get ready!"

He ran to his room and locked the door. There was no way in hell he was ever going to tell his mom about his fallout with Jamal. 

Ruby pulled out his phone and was greeted by his lock screen of himself and Jamal again, and sucked his teeth.

_I really need to change that._

He unlocked his phone and called Isabella.

"Hello?" she answered.

Ruby could hear the sadness in her voice. "Hey. Um, are you okay? Why do you sound like you're crying?"

"I'm not. It's....allergies," she lied.

Ruby wasn't sure if he believed that. He didn't press on it though. "Well...you ready to go?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you there." 

『••✎••』

Twenty minutes later, Ruby arrived at the clothing store. Isabella was already there. She walked up to him with a huge grin on her face. "About time."

"Yeah, my bad. Ma's been real concerned about me lately."

"I don't blame her."

Ruby shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I don't either."

"Come on, let's find something for you." 

"What about you?" Ruby asked. 

"Oh, I already have a dress," she told him. 

She grabbed his hand and led him inside the store. They walked around, looking at the clothing racks. Isabella took an item off the rack. "What about this?"

Ruby had a skeptical look on his face. "A suit? Do I really need that?"

"We're crashing the party, remember? We have to look better than everyone there."

"I guess so," Ruby replied. He stared at her as she continued going from rack to rack. Something was definitely wrong with her. "You sure everything's okay?"

Isabella glanced over at him and then focused on the racks. "Yeah, of course."

Ruby stepped in front of her, blocking her path. He grabbed her hands. "So why do you look like you've been crying?"

She tried to play it off. "I told you it's my allergies, silly."

"Well, I just want you to know that you can tell me anything. I'm always here for you," Ruby told her.

She nodded. "I know, babe." She kissed his cheek. 

Then his phone vibrated. He looked at his phone but he wasn't looking at the text. He was looking at his lock screen.

He frowned as he stared at the picture of himself and Jamal. They looked so happy and carefree. 

Isabella noted his sadness. She looked at his phone and saw the picture. "You miss him, huh?" Ruby nodded. "You should just talk to him again."

"No way. He replaced me with Cesar."

"I don't think Jamal would do that. Cesar isn't as great as you," Isabella assured him.

Ruby stared at her earnestly. "Don't you see them in the halls? They're all buddy buddy now."

"So change that. You're Ruby, you're capable of anything. You shut Cesar down once, you can do it again."

Ruby shook his head. "It's different now."

Isabella threw her hands up angrily. "How, Ruby? How could things possibly be different overnight?!"

"Latrelle's back! Do you realize that?!" Ruby shouted back. 

Isabella swallowed hard. "I have."

Ruby let out a sigh. "You heard him earlier. He took my crown. I'd be stupid to even try to get it back."

Isabella crossed her arms and bit her lip. "How did he even get out of Juvie early?"

"I don't want to know." Ruby shivered at the thought. Then he shrugged. "Look, let's just enjoy ourselves at this party."

Isabella smirked and nodded. "Let's give them hell." 

Ruby smirked back. "Well, I better hurry up and pick out an outfit. Where's that suit that you liked?" He looked around for it. 

Isabella stopped him. "You don't need that suit. I have something better in mind."

『••✎••』

Not long after, Monse cheerfully walked inside of her brand new house. She smiled when she got inside. She would never get tired of this sight.

She put her keys on the table and called for her dad. "Dad?!" 

No answer. She looked at the dining table and saw a note.

_Honey, I probably won't be home by the time you get out of school. I have work related stuff I have to handle. And you're welcome for the credits._

_-Dad_

Monse smiled. He really came through for her after all. 

She sat down on the couch and pulled out her phone and called her dad.

"Monse?"

"Hey, dad. I just got your note."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'll be there in a couple of hours."

"Well, I probably won't be here when you come," Monse mentioned.

"Why not?" Monty asked curiously. 

"I got invited to this party."

"A party, already? I see you made friends after all," he joked.

Monse laughed. "Yeah, four of them. They're pretty cool."

"Well alright, I guess you can go hang with your friends tonight. Just don't be out too late."

"I won't be late. And dad? Thanks for fixing the credits problem," she said cheerfully.

"Any time."

"How did you do it?" she wondered.

"That's a secret," he replied. "But I have to go."

"Oh okay. Bye dad."

"Bye. I love you."

"I love you too," she said before hanging up. She decided to call Kayla next. 

"Hey, Monse!" Kayla answered cheerfully.

"Hey BFF!"

"How was your first day?" Kayla asked.

"It was actually pretty amazing. I met some dope boys today."

"Boys? No girls?" Kayla questioned.

"Nope, no girls. Except for this one girl...she has an attitude problem."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "They always do."

Monse shrugged. "I just don't get along with girls. Except you, of course."

"And I'm all you need. But tell me more about these boys. Are they cute?"

Monse laughed. "I mean, yeah. They're really nice too. But I'm pretty sure one of them is taken, one is romantically awkward, and the other one is just...cold."

"Cold?"

"He just seems so serious all the time. But he invited me to his party tonight," Monse elaborated.

"And your dad is letting you go?"

"He is." Monse paused as she stared at the ceiling. She had a huge grin on her face as she thought about the fourth boy she met. "And then there's...Latrelle."

"Who is Latrelle?"

"The fine boy I told you about yesterday! He goes to my school," Monse answered.

"Damn. Well lucky you, surrounded by cuties while I'm surrounded by Jasmine," Kayla said bitterly. 

"I'm not that lucky. They all know each other and high key hate each other."

"Maybe they all want you to themselves, that's why," Kayla joked.

Monse snorted. "Yeah right. But the first three boys have one thing in common...they don't want me near Latrelle."

Kayla gasped. "But he's the cutest one!"

"Right! But they won't tell me why..."

"I'm telling you, they like you," Kayla commented.

Monse rolled her eyes. Then she was receiving another call. She looked at the caller ID and her jaw dropped when she saw who it was. "Oh my god." 

"What?"

"It's him!" Monse exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Latrelle! He's calling me!" Monse said excitedly.

"He has your number?!"

"I'll call you back, Kayla!"

"I still want his picture!" Kayla demanded.

Monse hung up on her and answered Latrelle's call. She cleared her throat and tried to maintain her composure. "Hello?"

"This is Monse, right?" he asked.

"You really think I'd give you a fake number?"

"I would hope not. That's never happened to me before. Plus, friendship should be built on honesty, remember?" Latrelle mocked.

Monse giggled. "You remembered that?"

"I'll remember everything you say from today until forever."

Monse was trying her hardest not to blush. Was he flirting?

"How was your first day?" he continued.

"It was amazing. I met some cool people," Monse told him.

"Like who?"

"Oh you know, Ruby, Jamal, and Cesar. And Ruby's girlfriend I guess," Monse answered.

"Yuck, yucker, and yuckest. And oh, Isabella is with Ruby now?" Latrelle asked. He sounded upset about that.

"I guess that's her name? I don't know."

"The one you were in the hall with?" he asked.

"Yeah, her."

Latrelle snickered. "Bet."

"You okay? You seem jealous..." Monse asked nervously. She prayed that he didn't like Isabella.

"Na. I already had her."

Monse's eyes widened. "Oh?" 

Was that why Isabella hated her so much? Because Latrelle's her ex? 

"Can I ask you something, Latrelle?"

"Go ahead beautiful."

"What's your deal with Ruby, Jamal, and Cesar? They seem to hate your guts," Monse asked.

Latrelle snickered. "So their bitch asses be whispering about me in the halls, huh?"

"I mean, they just keep telling me that you're dangerous and I don't understand how. You seem chill."

"If they think I'm dangerous, then what does that make Cesar?" he countered.

Monse sighed. She was so lost. "Look Latrelle, there's obviously something I don't know, so just tell me."

"I'll let Cesar tell you that. I mean, you're his friend right?"

Monse shrugged. "Yeah. I guess I'll just ask him at his party."

Latrelle's ears perked up. "What party?"

"He's having a party at his house tonight. You didn't know?"

Unbeknownst to Monse, Latrelle was smirking slyly. "Na, but you go enjoy yourself. I'll talk to you later."

Then he quickly hung up.

Monse stared down at her phone with furrowed eyebrows. What the hell were these boys hiding? 


	20. RUBY’S DEATH WISH.

❝ _Na, I already proved he’s a fraud. His brother’s next._ ❞  
  


Hours later, it was finally the moment Cesar had been waiting for. He really didn't want to host this party knowing that it was only for recruitments, but it was too late. He couldn't cancel now. 

Spooky walked up to him and asked, "Everything's in place?"

Cesar bit his lip and spoke softly. "Yeah..."

Spooky stared at him suspiciously. "Why you look so nervous?"

"Latrelle's out there on the hunt. Should we really be hosting a damn party? We don't need attention on us," Cesar answered.

"Let me tell you something—this is OUR block. Latrelle's stupid, but he's not that stupid," Spooky started. "And if he IS that stupid, I got this."

He pulled out a gun from his pocket. 

Cesar's whole body froze up. He put his hands out pleadingly. "PUT THAT AWAY!"

Spooky shook his head angrily and put the gun away. "How do you consider yourself a Santo when you're scared to see a gun?"

"I'm not scared. I just don't want to see any of these innocent people get hurt," Cesar told him.

"Then you better hope this party goes off without a hitch," Spooky warned.

Cesar gulped. Then the doorbell rang.

"Speaking of innocent people," Spooky said.

Cesar opened the door and greeted his fellow school mates. Dave was one of them.

"Welcome."

"H-h-hello Spooky. You h-have a ni-nice place," Dave stuttered. He was shaking in his boots.

Spooky slowly got in Dave's face and stared at him menacingly. " _Get out of my face._ " 

That made Dave hightail it away from them. He did NOT want to challenge a Santo!

Cesar smirked. _That's what his bitch ass gets._

"He definitely won't be getting recruited," Spooky said firmly.

Cesar was glad to hear that. "Good."

More guests arrived and Cesar greeted them. Spooky spoke to him. "Look, just handle shit out here in the front of the house. You think you can do that?"

"Yeah, but what are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna handle shit in the back," Spooky said before walking off to his room.

Cesar sighed and looked around. Everyone was already helping their selves to drinks. 

"Yo," a voice behind him said. 

He spun around and saw Jamal. "Jamal?" Cesar gave him a bro hug. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. You should really lock the door by the way," Jamal suggested.

"Yeah, I'll do that. I'm just surprised you're here."

"Why? I told you I was coming."

"Yeah, but earlier you seemed really pissed. What happened with your mom?" 

"Well, you already know she hates the fact that I'm your friend," Jamal started. "But she somehow found out Latrelle is back. Now she wants me to switch schools."

"Damn," is all Cesar said.

"But there's this one thing that she said that's stuck in my head," Jamal mentioned.

"What?"

"That Latrelle's back to handle some unfinished business."

Cesar's face got pale. "Oh god."

Jamal stroked his chin. "I've been trying to figure out what his unfinished business is, but I have no clue."

"Stop trying to figure it out," Cesar warned.

"But if we can figure it out, we can prove to Monse that he's dangerous!"

"I told you no! She can't know anything!" Cesar objected. 

Jamal sighed. "Where is she anyway?"

Cesar looked at his phone. "She's on her way."

"Ohhh...you got her number?" Jamal teased.

Cesar rolled his eyes. "She asked for it. She wants yours too, so don't think too much of it."

Jamal looked around at the other teens. "You ready to get this party started?"

Cesar shrugged. "I guess so."

"Let's go then."

They walked up to the other teens. Let the party begin.

『••✎••』

About a half hour later, Ruby arrived with Isabella.

"Did we really have to be fashionably late?" Ruby asked.

"Yes Ruby, we want their heads to turn. I mean, look at us," Isabella said while spinning around to show off her dress.

Ruby observed Isabella. She looked beautiful in her purple dress. Then he looked down at his own outfit and swallowed hard. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Isabella crossed her arms petulantly. "Ruby, are you having doubts about crashing this party? Wasn't this your idea?"

Ruby picked his head up and exhaled deeply. "You're right. Let's give them hell."

Isabella smiled and walked towards the door. When she touched the doorknob, Ruby yelled.

"WAIT!"

Isabella grew annoyed. "What now, Ruby?"

"What if they don't let us in?"

Isabella turned the doorknob and the door opened. She looked back and smirked at him. "Looks like that won't be a problem."

Ruby laughed a little and headed inside. When he got inside, he saw a bunch of teens dancing and drinking. "How do we get their attention?"

Isabella looked over at him. "Do what you do best."

Ruby stood on top of a table and made his presence known. "RUBY'S IN THIS BITCH!" 

Everyone turned their attention to him with startled faces. Their eyes instantly darted to his outfit.

Ruby saw Jamal and Cesar coming out of the kitchen. They looked at him, completely horrified.

"Yeah, that's right. Bella and I have arrived. Thanks for our invite by the way, Cesar." Ruby paused and pointed at Isabella. "Oh wait, we didn't get one." He shrugged and looked at Cesar again. "But we showed up anyway."

Cesar's face got hot. " _What the fuck is he doing here?_ " he whispered to Jamal.

"And what the fuck is he wearing?" Jamal added.

Cesar looked at Ruby's outfit. He was dressed as if he were a Santos.

Ruby addressed Cesar again. "Cat got your tongue?"

The other teens snickered at Cesar.

Cesar walked up to Ruby. "I suggest you get the fuck off my table."

"Or what? You're gonna get your brother on me?"

"You do realize he's here, right? So I would stop this act you're trying to pull off," Cesar warned.

Ruby smirked. "I'll be waiting right here for him."

The other teens gasped. Jamal couldn't believe what he was hearing. Ruby was really challenging Spooky in his own house!

Even Isabella was worried. "Um babe, calm down."

Ruby put his arm out to silence her. "I got this, Bella."

"No I don't think you do!" Isabella grabbed his arm and tried to pull him off of the table. 

Ruby stood his ground and escaped her grip. "STOP IT! I said I got this!" 

All of the guests were horrified. Why was he acting so insane? 

At this point, Isabella had tears in her eyes. "This wasn't part of the plan!" 

"Plan?" Cesar repeated. "This was your idea?" 

Isabella just rolled her eyes.

"It was my idea!" Ruby quickly said. He showed off his outfit. "But this outfit? It was her idea. It was a great choice, baby."

"So you think it's cute to come to my house uninvited and mock my gang?" Cesar hissed.

"Your gang?" Ruby laughed hysterically. "You can't even fight!"

"You caught me off guard!"

"Then fight him again!" Dave inserted. "I bet he'll beat your ass again, in your own house!"

Everyone laughed. Ruby waved his hands around. "Na, I already proved he's a fraud." Then he paused, smirked, and said, " _His brother's next._ "

Everyone looked at him in horror again. Even Cesar was completely speechless. 

Ruby grew impatient. "What are you waiting for?! Go get him!"

Cesar scanned around the room. Everyone was fixated on him, waiting to see what his next move was. Was he going to get Spooky?

Cesar looked at Isabella. She had tears running down her cheeks. "Isabella."

"What?"

"How does it feel to know that you just got your boyfriend killed?" Cesar spat before walking off to get Spooky. 


	21. JAMAL THE BODYGUARD.

__

_❝ You also said that I would probably take a bullet for Ruby, and you're right, I will. ❞_

_  
"How does it feel to know that you just got your boyfriend killed?" Cesar spat before walking off to get Spooky._

  
Everyone's jaw dropped. Isabella's heart did a flip. "Oh my god!" She shook her head and grabbed Ruby's arms again. "Let's leave now, Ruby!"

"I'm not going anywhere!"

Meanwhile, Jamal grabbed Cesar. "Do not do this, Cesar!"

Cesar pushed Jamal away. "He can't be saved, Jamal."

He walked off to Spooky's room.

Jamal was panicking. He looked at Ruby and saw him still standing on the table. Dave gave him a drink.

"I would like to say something," Dave announced. He looked at Ruby. "I admire you, Ruby. You are one brave motherfucker!"

"Ruby is going to make Freeridge safe again!" another boy announced.

"All Hail Ruby!" Dave chanted.

"ALL HAIL RUBY!" they all repeated.

Isabella shook her head. "I can't watch this."

She rushed out of the house.

Everyone else resumed their dancing, including Ruby. Jamal scowled at Ruby. Did he not care that he could possibly be dead in a couple of seconds? Did NO ONE care?! 

Jamal plopped down in a chair and prayed that Ruby would live to see another day. 

Meanwhile, Cesar barged into Spooky's room. Spooky jumped a little. "The hell, fool?!"

"Get your gun," Cesar ordered.

"For what?"

"He's here."

Spooky sprung up from his bed, alarmed. "Who?!"

"Ruby!"

Spooky sucked his teeth. He got all worked up for nothing! "I thought you didn't invite him?"

"I didn't, but he thought it was cute to show up anyway."

Spooky snickered. "Damn, he really doesn't respect you."

"It's not funny, Oscar! He's out there mocking the Santos! He's even challenging you!" Cesar exclaimed.

"The boy obviously has a death wish," Spooky said.

"Exactly, so let's give it to him."

Then they heard the guests chanting 'All hail Ruby!'

"See! They're worshiping him again!" Cesar said angrily.

Spooky opened the door and saw everyone dancing around Ruby. Then he saw Ruby's outfit. "He's a disrespectful one." 

Cesar nodded vigorously. "Exactly! Let's show him that we're not to be messed with!"

"No." Spooky closed the door and sat back down.

"What do you mean no?!?! He's making you look bad!"

"You think I care about what that little boy says about me?"

"You should! He's making you look like a bitch!" Cesar argued.

Spooky stood up again and got in Cesar's face. "So what do you want me to do?! Put a bullet in his head?!"

"That's what HE wants you to do!" Cesar fired back.

Spooky objected. "Na, it's too messy."

Cesar looked at his brother in disbelief. "Too messy?! Who cares!"

"The fuck I look like shooting a little kid?! In front of your whole school at that?! That's not how we do things," Spooky snapped.

Cesar scoffed. "So we're just gonna let him disrespect us in our own house?"

"This isn't my battle, it's yours. I told you to stop running to me like a little bitch!"

"I only came in here because he specifically said he wanted YOU!" Cesar told him.

"I don't care what he wants. Plus, I already told you that I have plans for him," Spooky mentioned. "But if you wanna handle it, here." He put his gun in Cesar's back pocket. 

Cesar's body tensed up. "Why...w-why are yo-you giving me this?"

"You want to prove that you're not weak, right? So go handle your business. Shit, maybe I might let you in the Santos after all," Spooky joked.

"I'm not shooting him," Cesar objected.

Spooky opened the door and pushed Cesar out of the room. "Handle your business!"

Cesar froze up. He looked around and saw everyone dancing and drinking. He looked back at his brother, who was watching from the doorway with a smirk on his face. 

"Cesar!" Jamal shouted as he ran up to him. "What the hell, man?! You've been in there for like thirty minutes!"

Cesar put his hand on his back pocket while Jamal spoke. "Please tell me you changed your mind!"

Cesar looked at Ruby, who was clearly enjoying himself a little too much. He focused back on Jamal. "Move out of my way, Jamal." 

He tried to walk past Jamal, but Jamal stopped him. "Look, I know Ruby challenged your brother, but please let him slide! I promise this is just a phase!"

"Stop trying to save him! He can't be saved!" Cesar shouted. He started walking towards Ruby again with his hand still on his back pocket. Jamal noticed the gun and drew in a sharp breath. He quickly stepped in front of Cesar.

"Are you crazy?! You're gonna shoot him?!"

Cesar glanced over at his brother again. "I have to redeem myself."

"No you don—"

"What happened, Cesar?" Ruby interrupted.

"Ruby, please leave while you can," Jamal warned.

Ruby rolled his eyes. "Stop talking to me, Jamal." 

"I would listen to him, Ruby," Cesar also warned.

"You know, I'm still waiting for your brother to show his face," Ruby retorted.

"I don't need my brother. I can handle my own shit."

Ruby snickered. Cesar glared at him. "Oh, that's funny?"

"No, but what's funny is the fact that you're still putting on this bad boy act when we all know you're the biggest fraud in Freeridge."

Cesar was fuming at this point. He reached for the gun and Jamal noticed. He quickly got in between them. "Don't you dare, Cesar!"

"Move Jamal," Cesar hissed while keeping his eyes on Ruby.

"Yeah move, Jamal. You always complain about everyone thinking that you're my bodyguard, but you constantly protect me!" Ruby fired at him.

"Do you not realize that your life is at stake here?!" Jamal yelled.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PROTECTION!" Ruby yelled back.

Jamal looked at Cesar again. He looked like he was going to pull the gun out at any second. "Cesar, if you do this, I will never forgive you." 

Cesar huffed. "You can't save him, Jamal."

"I can and I will. When we first met, you asked me if I was loyal," Jamal recalled. "Well I am."

"Where are you going with this?" Cesar asked with an attitude.

"You also said that I would probably take a bullet for Ruby, and you're right, I will," Jamal continued.

Ruby's eyes widened. "Jamal..." 

"So go ahead and pull that trigger. But just know that bullet will hit me before I let it hit him," Jamal finished. 

Ruby swallowed hard. Was he really willing to take a bullet for him? 

Cesar sighed and looked down at the floor as he said his next words. "You enjoy yourself, Ruby."

Then he walked off. 

As he did so, he glanced over at his brother and saw Spooky roll his eyes and close the door.

Cesar sighed again and went to the backyard. He needed some fresh air. 


	22. CROSSING ENEMY LINES.

❝ _Monse, there’s something you need to know about this neighborhood._ ❞

  
Meanwhile, Ruby and Jamal were still standing together. Ruby was still in complete shock. Was Cesar really going to shoot him?

"Jamal.." 

"Don't say anything, Ruby," Jamal said angrily.

"You didn't have to do that..."

"BUT I DID! Because your ass obviously doesn't care if you live or die! Look around for fuck sake! There are people that love you, including me!" Jamal snapped. He pointed at Isabella. "Don't you love her, Ruby?"

Ruby looked over at Isabella. She was crying her eyes out on the couch. "Of course I do."

"And what about your family, do you love them? Your mom?" Jamal asked.

"Yes...." Ruby said slowly. 

"How do you think she would've felt if I had to tell her that you died by the hands of Cesar because you wanted to show off?! Do you realize how heartbroken she would be?!"

Ruby frowned. He was engulfed with guilt. "Yes." 

Suddenly, Jamal pushed him. "Then stop acting like a damn fool and wise the fuck up! Cause I might not be able to protect you next time!"

And with that, he left.

"Wait, Jamal!" Ruby called after him, but Jamal didn't come back.

Ruby thought about what Jamal said. He had so many people that would be devastated if he died. He also remembered what his mother told him earlier—that he was worth so much. He shouldn't be throwing his life away like this.

He decided to walk up to a devastated Isabella. "Hey, can I talk to you?" 

"Ruby?!" She quickly hugged him. "I didn't know if they had hurt you or not!"

"Cesar was going to shoot me," Ruby revealed.

"WHAT?!"

"Like he was actually going to shoot me, Bella! I pushed him to his limits," Ruby told her. "But thanks to Jamal he didn't."

Ruby plopped down on the couch. Isabella held him. "Well, I'm thankful for Jamal."

"He was actually ready to take a bullet for me. Even after all the disrespect I've been giving him!" Ruby put his head in his hands. He still couldn't believe it.

"I think it's time for you to make things right again," Isabella suggested.

"It's time for me to wise up," he agreed. "I'm done with this King Ruby shit. I'm done fighting with Cesar. I'm done with it all."

Isabella smiled. "I'm proud of you, Ruby. You're the best guy I know. I don't want to lose you."

"You won't," he said before giving her a kiss. "But there's one last thing I have to do."

"What?"

Ruby stood up on the table again. "Can I have everyone's attention?!" 

Everyone focused on him. Dave spoke up. "Yes, King Ruby?"

"See that King Ruby shit? That's done. Don't call me that anymore," Ruby announced. 

Everyone was shocked to hear that. Dave spoke again. "But—"

Ruby cut him off. "But nothing, Dave! You guys shouldn't be worshiping me. I didn't do anything impressive. All I did was win a fight but at the end of the day, that doesn't matter. It never will."

Isabella smiled. She was so proud of him. 

Ruby continued. "All that's going to happen is someone's going to end up dead, and I think we can all agree that we don't need any more death in Freeridge." 

Everyone nodded. 

"But I almost DID die tonight. I lost myself so much to the point where I forgot what's most important—my family and friends. And I wouldn't still be breathing if it wasn't for that guy right there." 

Ruby pointed at Jamal. Jamal smiled faintly.

"And I know Cesar's not here, but I would like to thank him too. He could've pulled the trigger but he didn't. He walked away like the bigger person. So I think the least that we can all do is stop giving him so much shit. He's not a fraud, not by a long shot," Ruby finished. 

"Well, I'm gonna let ya'll go back and enjoy the party now."

Everyone applauded him for that speech. They all needed that wake up call. 

Ruby walked back to Isabella, who welcomed him with a grin. "Ruby, that was really sweet."

Ruby smiled. "I just had to get that off my chest."

"Hey, why is everyone clapping?" Monse asked while walking up to them. "And why is the door unlocked?"

"Monse? I didn't know you were coming," Ruby responded.

"I didn't know you were coming either," Monse replied. "Soooo, why was everyone clapping?"

"Ruby just gave a beautiful speech," Isabella told her.

"Oh. I didn't know you were a public speaker," Monse joked.

Ruby chuckled. "I just had to get something off my chest."

"Well, I'm sorry that I missed it."

Ruby shrugged. "It's probably a good thing that you didn't hear it."

Monse furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is that?"

"Uh, no reason!" Ruby quickly said.

"Well, have you seen Cesar? I really need to ask him something," Monse asked while scanning the room.

"Ask him what?" Isabella wondered.

"It's just something Latrelle told me. It's stuck in my head."

Ruby sucked his teeth. "Why are you hanging out with him? You shouldn't be anywhere near him!"

"Yeah. If I were you, I would get out of that situation quick," Isabella warned her.

Monse grew annoyed. "You know what, I'm sick and tired of people telling me about other people being dangerous! What is the big deal with Latrelle!? Why is everyone scared of him?!"

Ruby looked down at the floor and pursed his lips. 

"Tell me, Ruby!" Monse demanded.

Ruby took a deep breath and slowly looked up at her. "Look Monse, there's something you need to know about this neighborhood." 

Monse crossed her arms. "Then tell me." 

Ruby pointed at the couch. "Have a seat." 

When they all were seated, he spoke again. "I honestly don't know where to begin." 

Monse rolled her eyes. "Well you better start somewhere."

Ruby looked at Isabella. "Babe, a little help here?"

Isabella sighed. "Look Monse, the Prophets-"

"The Prophets what, bitch?!" a voice behind them spat. Ruby and Isabella froze up. They knew that voice from anywhere.

"Latrelle? I didn't know you were coming!" Monse said excitedly.

"And watch your mouth," Ruby hissed.

Latrelle let out a laugh. "Man Ruby, I've been hearing a lot about you lately. I gotta say, I didn't know you had it in you."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You beating up Cesar. Exposing him as a fraud. You've earned my respect," Latrelle told him.

Monse's ears perked up. She addressed Ruby. "Wait, what? You fought Cesar?"

Ruby's ears also perked up. He completely ignored Monse and focused on Latrelle. "Wait, I really earned your respect?"

"Yup. About...one percent of it," Latrelle answered. 

Ruby huffed and Latrelle laughed. "You still got 99% to go, little man. But I'll give you a hint. If you want my full respect, you gotta get your hands dirty. A fistfight ain't shit. Maybe if you _kill_ Cesar, you'd get that 99 percent real fast."

"That's not funny, Latrelle! You're in his house! Be respectful!" Monse scolded.

"Monse..." Isabella whispered.

"What?"

"Yeah, what was that, Isabella? You've been real quiet over there next to your new man," Latrelle pointed out.

"Oh yeah, aren't you guys exes or something?" Monse asked while pointing at Latrelle and Isabella.

Ruby looked at her as if she were crazy. "What?"

"I think it's time for us to leave, Ruby!" Isabella said before getting up.

"Right behind ya!"

They hightailed it away from Latrelle. Monse shouted after them. "Wait, you still didn't tell me about the Prophets!"

"I wouldn't say that out loud if I were you," Latrelle warned her.

"Why? Do you know about them?"

Latrelle crossed his arms. "Of course I do. I'm one of them."

Monse was confused. "What do you guys do?"

Latrelle looked at her earnestly. "You really wanna know about Freeridge?"

"Yes please, since no one else will tell me."

"Alright look, Freeridge is a gang neighborhood," he said bluntly.

Monse's jaw dropped and her eyes widened into a horrified expression. "EXCUSE ME?"

Latrelle continued explaining. "Two gangs—The Santos and the Prophets. We hate each other. This house we're in right now is in Santos territory." 

"So you're in a gang and you're just now telling me?!" Monse said angrily.

"I didn't even get to the good part, girl."

Monse sprung up from the couch. "I think I've heard enough!"

"Your friend Cesar is a Santo. But I bet he didn't tell you that, did he?"

Monse furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

Latrelle nodded. "It's true. Why do you think we hate each other? Why do you think they all fear me?"

Monse couldn't believe what she was hearing. "So you're both in different gangs...but if that's true and this is Santos territory, why are you here?" 

All Latrelle did was smirk. 


	23. SPOOKED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double posted.   
> Read last chapter first.

❝ _Bullets are gonna start flying, and we don’t miss._ ❞

  
Cesar stepped back into the house. He needed some alone time to clear his head. He was so close to pulling the gun out on Ruby, and the scary part was, a part of him wanted to shoot even with Jamal standing in the way.

He shook his head angrily. Was he turning into his brother? 

He kept walking until he saw Jamal sitting down. "Hey."

Jamal looked up from his hands. "Hey."

"Can I sit with you?"

"Yeah. It's your house."

Cesar chuckled and sat down. "Look, I'm really sorry about earlier. I don't know what got into me."

"I really don't want to think about it, but I understand. Ruby has been pushing your limits for days. But thank you for not hurting him."

"No, thank _you_."

Jamal shrugged. "It sucks that you missed the speech though."

"What speech?"

"Ruby gave a speech. It was beautiful. He's done with the worshiping bullshit and he's done giving you trouble. He finally wised up," Jamal informed him.

"Do you know where he is?" Cesar asked.

Jamal looked straight ahead. "Yeah, there he goes."

Cesar looked straight ahead and saw Ruby running their way, looking terrified. "You guys have to hurry up. NOW!"

"What happened?!" Jamal asked urgently.

"Monse's in danger, you guys have to help her!"

Cesar's heart dropped. "WHAT? Where is she?!"

"On the couch..." Ruby swallowed hard. "...with Latrelle." 

He pointed across the room at Latrelle and Monse. Cesar's eyes widened. What the FUCK was Latrelle doing on their territory?!

"You have to save her!" Ruby urged. Then he rushed out of the house.

Jamal had a panicked look on his face. "What the fuck do we do?!"

"I'll be back!" Cesar was getting ready to go get Spooky, but Jamal grabbed him. 

"No, Cesar! We don't have time for that!"

"Oscar will handle it!"

"NO! Aren't you tired of running to him all the time?! Aren't you the same guy that told me that you don't need your brother to fight your battles?!"

Cesar took a deep breath and nodded. "You're right. I'll handle it." 

He walked towards Monse. As he got there, she was getting up.

"I'm done! I've heard enough!"

"MONSE!" Cesar called.

She looked at him in disgust. Then she pushed him. "You're a Santos?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Latrelle told me everything! You're in a gang and you weren't going to tell me! You invited me to this party knowing that it was in gang territory! This is not how I rock, Cesar!" she yelled. 

By this time, everyone was watching them.

"Monse, I'm not in the gang," Cesar tried to tell her.

"But you're connected!"

Latrelle shook his head. "Damn shame." 

"Shut up 'cause you're not innocent either!" Monse spat. 

Cesar spoke. "Look Monse, I don't know what he told you—"

"Save it. I'm done with the BOTH of you! Stay away from me!" Then she stormed out.

Jamal followed behind her. "Monse, wait!"

Latrelle snickered at Cesar. "Damn, you fucked up."

Cesar was furious. He pushed him. "You think this shit is a joke?!"

"Boy touch me again, and let's see if you'll still have hands to touch with!" Latrelle threatened.

"I always knew you were stupid, but you must be really stupid to come to our territory."

Latrelle shrugged. "I heard there was a party. You know I like to party." 

"You like a lot of things," Cesar retorted.

"Yeah. I like taking your bitches. Monse is one of them."

Cesar was heated. He and Latrelle pulled out their guns at the same time. The guests were terrified.

"TRY IT, BITCH!" Latrelle challenged.

"I'm gonna give you five seconds to get out of my house," Cesar warned. 

"Well you better get to counting, 'cause I ain't leaving," Latrelle responded. 

Cesar was itching to pull the trigger.

"I heard what you let that little boy do to you. You's a bitch," Latrelle continued. "Or maybe you can change my mind by pulling the trigger. But we both know you ain't never killed someone before. _But I have._ So you better put the gun down before I show you how I do things."

Cesar was about to pull the trigger until his brother stepped in. 

"Put the gun down," Spooky ordered.

"Hell no, he's on our territory!" Cesar objected.

"Put the damn gun down 'cause the boy is right about one thing, you're not going to shoot him." Spooky snatched the gun from his brother and pointed it right back at Latrelle. "But I will."

Latrelle snickered. "I don't know why your name is Spooky, you ain't scaring nobody."

"Why the fuck are you on my territory?! Alone, at that?" Spooky questioned.

"Oh, you bitches think I'm alone?" 

Suddenly, Latrelle whistled. After that, a group of Prophets came out from different doorways with guns.

Spooky was shaken up. Chills ran down his spine. "What the....fuck?"

Latrelle smirked. "You see how easy we got in here? Got you bitches terrified." 

The other Prophets laughed.

"This is OUR block now!" Latrelle announced. "So do you think you can shoot me faster than they can put a bullet in both of your skulls?" 

Cesar glanced over at Spooky. He was completely frozen. 

Latrelle took their silence as a no. He paced around. "I didn't think so. But I don't want yall dead, not tonight. I like to play with my food. I want a _war_. But you Santos bitches WILL start respecting us because if you don't, well..." He halted and smirked at them. "Bullets are gonna start flying, and we don't miss."

Now chills ran down Cesar's spine. 

"Shit, MY name should be Spooky 'cause I got y'all spooked!" Latrelle joked. He nudged his head at his gang. "Let's go y'all, we're done here. And you bitches better tell the rest of them Santos to watch their backs, cause we're just getting started!" 

When Latrelle left with his crew, Cesar addressed Spooky. "What the hell was that?! Why didn't you shoot?!"

"Why didn't you?!" Spooky fired back. "Didn't you see that we were outnumbered?! No...we gotta do this smart." 

Spooky looked around at all of the guests who were still watching. "LEAVE! The party's over!"

They all scrambled out of the house. Spooky looked at Cesar. "As for you, we got a gang to take out." 


	24. GROUNDED.

❝ _Gee, thanks for the heads up daddy._ ❞

Monse was outside of Cesar's house with Jamal. Everyone was leaving, including Latrelle.

"I'll talk to you later, Monse," he told her.

Monse rolled her eyes. "Like hell he will!"

"Look Monse, I know you're upset," Jamal started.

"Upset?! I feel betrayed!"

"But why? Cesar did nothing wrong."

"Cesar had many chances to tell me the truth. ALL of you did!" Monse argued.

"We tried to warn you about Latrelle!"

"Yeah, and what about warning me about Cesar?! He's just as bad!"

Jamal sighed. "It's different."

"Oh is it?"

"Yes. Cesar isn't in the gang."

"His brother is, Jamal. He's connected either way," Monse replied.

"Just hear him out, please. He cares about you."

"If he cared about me, he wouldn't have invited me to the dangerous side of the neighborhood! He put my life at risk! All of ours!" Monse spat.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in. When I first met Cesar I thought that he was dangerous too, but then I got to know him. He's not a bad guy at all. And he would never put you in danger, trust me," Jamal assured her.

"And what about Latrelle?"

"He's dangerous."

Monse rolled her eyes. "Have you ever had a conversation with him?"

"No, and I don't want to," Jamal answered.

"Then how are you sure he's dangerous?"

Jamal huffed. "Just trust me please?"

Monse shrugged. "It doesn't matter anymore, I'm done with them." 

Then her phone vibrated. It was her dad. "I have to go. Goodnight, Jamal."

"Wait, give me your phone."

"For what?"

"Cesar said you wanted my number."

"Oh yeah." Monse gave him her phone. He put his number in.

"All set." 

"Night, Jamal. Get home safe, especially with this being a gang neighborhood and all."

Jamal chuckled. "You too, Monse."

Monse started heading home. She thought about Cesar and Latrelle the entire time. She felt so disappointed in them.

She was certain that Cesar was never going to tell her the truth. How could she trust someone like that? 

And Latrelle...she actually liked Latrelle, but obviously those dreams were over. And the fact that they both were in opposite gangs scared her even more. 

When Monse got to her house, she saw her dad pacing back and forth. He scolded her. "Where have you been, young lady? It's nearly midnight!"

"What's the big deal? This neighborhood is SAFE, remember?" Monse said sarcastically.

"That doesn't mean that you can be out all hours of the night, alone!"

"Oh, but I wasn't alone daddy. No, you see, I was with my friends who are gang members by the way. Cool right?" Monse retorted.

Her father looked shocked. "Excuse me?"

Monse paced around. "So when were you going to tell me that this was a gang neighborhood?"

"I had no idea, Monse."

"STOP LYING TO ME!" Monse yelled. "I'm tired of the secrets!"

Her father avoided eye contact. "Honey, we're on the safe side, I promise."

"Oh, NOW you want to be specific!"

"I didn't think that you would need to know," Monty admitted.

"WHY THE HELL NOT? You really let me go to a party on Santos territory! Something could've happened to me!" Monse argued.

"I didn't know that you were going to that side, Monse. I would've never let you go," Monty replied.

Monse rolled her eyes. "Enough with the lies! You knew that this was a dangerous neighborhood, but you brought us here anyway! Is that job really that worth it?!"

"It is, Monse."

"Worth more than my life?" Monse questioned.

"Of course not, honey!"

"Obviously it is," she spat before heading for the stairs. "Goodnight."

"Monse, wait!"

"I have nothing else to say to you!"

"The names of your friends...what are they?" her father asked worriedly.

She halted and turned around. "Cesar and Latrelle."

"Oh my god..." Monty muttered. He put his head down and shook it.

"You know about them, don't you?"

"Monse..."

"Gee, thanks for the heads up daddy." 

Monse ran to her room after that. Monty called after her, but she kept running. She slammed her bedroom door and laid on her bed. She started crying out of anger because she felt so alone! She couldn't trust anyone, not even her own blood!

Monse continued her angry cry. She cried and cried until she eventually fell asleep. 

  
  
『••✎••』

Saturday morning, Ruby arose from his bed with his arms outstretched overhead, and with a grin on his face. He was happy that it was finally the weekend, especially after what happened last night.

From Cesar almost shooting him, to Latrelle popping up unexpectedly, Ruby just needed a break from it all. 

He walked over to his mirror and observed himself. He was ready to go back to his old self, but there was one thing that he needed to do first—come clean to his mother. 

He walked into the living room and called for his mother. "MA!"

"In the kitchen, Ruby!"

"Can you come here please?!"

Ruby's mother appeared. "What's wrong?"

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

Ruby walked over to the couch and sat down. He patted the bare spot beside him, gesturing for her to sit. "Have a seat."

Geny slowly walked to the couch, confusion and fear evident on her face. "You're scaring me."

"I don't think you're gonna like what I'm about to say."

Geny's eyes widened briefly, but then she relaxed and stared at him intently. "I'm listening..."

"Well, I guess I should start from the beginning..." Ruby started. He took a deep breath and let the truth escape his lips. "Okay, this whole beef with Cesar started over a girl."

"Ruby.."

"I know, it was dumb. I realize that now."

"Well, what's her name?"

"Isabella."

"And do you really like her?"

"I love her with all my heart," Ruby confessed.

Geny let out a small sigh, not wanting her baby boy to end up heartbroken. "And does she love you?"

Ruby opened his mouth to answer, but no words came out. He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, struggling to answer that question. 

Truth was, he didn't know if Isabella loved him, but to spare himself the heartache, he assumed the answer was yes. "Yes?" 

Geny shook her head disappointedly. "If you're going to beef over a girl, you better make sure she loves you. Does Cesar like her?"

"I doubt it. He rejected her."

Geny continued. "And let me guess, she came running to you?"

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows. Wow, she was a genius! "Yeah, how'd you know?"

She rolled her eyes. This situation was becoming crystal clear to her. "Baby if you ask me, you sound like a rebound."

"I'm not!"

"Ruby—"

Ruby cut her off. "Look, that's not the point! There's more that I need to tell you. Like how me and Jamal...aren't exactly friends."

Geny gasped. "WHAT? But he's been hanging out with you!"

"It was Isabella," Ruby admitted. 

Geny glared at him with a roll of her eyes. "I should've known. What happened? You two were the best of friends!"

"After he took that punch for me, his parents wanted him nowhere near me and now I see why. I wasn't myself anymore. After I won that fight, I turned into a monster and it got to the point where Jamal didn't want to be around me. So he became friends with Cesar and I hated him for it," he explained.

"Well, you seem to have come to your senses now."

Ruby nodded. "I have. I'm done being a tough guy and I'm going to fix my friendship."

"I'm proud of you honey," Geny said before kissing his forehead. She started heading for the kitchen, but Ruby had one more thing to get off his chest.

"Ma, I almost died last night."

Geny's heart dropped. She instantly whirled around with an alarmed look. "What...what are you talking about, Ruben?"

Ruby swallowed hard and averted his gaze as he spoke. "The party I went to wasn't Jamal's...it was Cesar's."

"Are you kidding me, Ruby?! You went to his territory while you were beefing with him?!"

"And the worse part is...I wasn't even invited," Ruby admitted.

Geny couldn't believe what she was hearing. She knew that Ruby was acting out a lot lately, but she didn't expect it to be this bad.

"You really are different."

He shook his head. "Not anymore, ma! I'm not going to act reckless anymore. Not after last night."

"How did you almost die, Ruby?!"

"I crashed the party with Isabella and basically threatened Cesar and Spooky."

"In their own damn house, Ruby?!"

"And Cesar was going to shoot me. The only reason why he didn't was because of Jamal. Jamal was ready to take a bullet for me, ma!"

Ruby rubbed his hand over his face, still reeling over what happened. "I still can't believe it."

Geny scowled at him. "And what if Cesar decided to shoot anyway?! Jamal would've been dragged into YOUR mess! Over a girl! I raised you better than that!"

"I know, I'm sorry. But Jamal made me realize that I need to wise up. I'm back to my old self now," Ruby assured her.

"Yeah, and you're also grounded," Geny spat before turning around to walk off.

"WHAT, WHY?!"

"You are coming straight home after school! That's the only way I can make sure that you don't do anything stupid!"

"I won't! I learned my lesson!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Quiet, Ruben! You need to lay low for a while! Who knows if Cesar is still mad at you or not? Plus, your teacher Mr. Payne called and told me that you have an essay due Monday. Have you started it?"

Ruby huffed. Of course his history teacher snitched on him. So typical. 

"No.."

"Yeah, because you've been too busy acting like a wild animal! But you know what, that's fine. You'll be in this house all weekend working on it!"

Ruby groaned.

"Starting right now. Go to your room," Geny ordered. 

Ruby groaned again, which ticked her off. Did he think she was playing?

"NOW RUBY!"

He sighed and slowly rose, while Geny started walking away again. "Uh ma, there's one more thing."

Geny halted and huffed. "What, Ruby?"

"Latrelle's back."

Geny's ears perked up and her back stiffened. That diabolical boy was out of Juvie? That's even more reason for her to keep Ruby grounded! She needed to keep him away from Latrelle!

She looked over her shoulder at Ruby with a straight face. "Yeah, you're definitely grounded." 

And then she finally walked off.

Ruby chuckled to himself. He knew he should probably be upset about being grounded, but he didn't care. It felt good to come clean. Besides, he did need to lay low, especially with Latrelle roaming around. He also wanted a fresh start and that was his first step. 

"Time for step two," he said before going to his room. He closed the door and sat on his bed. He grabbed his phone and stared at his lock screen with a smile. 

The least he could do was fix things with Jamal. After all, he owed Jamal his life. So he called Jamal but got no answer. 

Was he still mad at him? 

Ruby decided to text him instead.

 **RUBY :** Hey Jamal. I know things have been weird between us, but I want to work it out.

Ruby sent the text. He waited a couple of minutes, but got no reply.

Yup, looks like Jamal was mad at him. 

Ruby sighed and started working on his dumb essay. 


	25. PROTECTION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double posted again.

❝ _We need all the help we can get right now._ ❞

  
  


Spooky was pacing back and forth. Cesar was sitting on the couch, fiddling with his phone. He kept texting Monse, but never got an reply. He really needed to fix things with her.

"How long are you going to keep bothering that girl?" Spooky asked.

Cesar looked at him confused. "What girl?"

Spooky rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid. You can worry about her later, we need to focus right now."

Spooky was clearly stressed out. "I couldn't even sleep, man."

"Me either. I can't believe that Latrelle had the cojones to come to our block!" Cesar replied.

Spooky sat down. "I don't know what happened in Juvie, but Latrelle has HUGE cojones now. He's powerful."

"And he wants everyone to know it," Cesar added.

"He sure does. And he's going to use us as an example. We can't let him."

"So what do we do?" Cesar asked.

Spooky thought about it. "You know what I don't understand? How did he get into our house so easily?"

Cesar thought about it. Then his eyes widened when he realized. " _Shit_."

"What?"

"I left the door unlocked," Cesar confessed.

Spooky was absolutely livid. "You fucking kidding me, Cesar?! You let our enemies waltz in here?! And you wonder why you're not a Santo!"

"I know, I'm sorry! I forgot! I was so distracted with Ruby!"

"You had one job, Cesar...."

"I'm sorry," Cesar said sadly.

Spooky shrugged it off. "It doesn't matter anymore. You're a Santo now." 

Cesar looked at his brother in disbelief. "Did you just say what I think you said?"

"Yup. You're in," Spooky said while standing up.

Cesar sprung up from the couch. "Wait, that's it? I don't have to pass a test or something?!"

Spooky huffed in annoyance. "Do you want to help take down the Prophets?" he questioned. Cesar nodded. "Then you're in. We need all the help we can get right now."

Cesar was astonished. "So what's the plan?"

"Well, I told the rest of the gang about last night. Half of them are watching the block, making sure the Prophets aren't around," Spooky began. "The rest of us are going to be behind enemy lines watching Latrelle's every move."

"Alright, what do I do?" Cesar asked.

"Nothing," Spooky said before he turned to walk away. 

"NOTHING?!" Cesar repeated angrily. "That's not fair! I'm a Santo now, you said so yourself!"

"I did."

"So I want to do my part!" Cesar demanded.

Spooky rolled his eyes and turned around. "Fine. You go to school with him, right? So find out what he's plotting."

Cesar looked doubtful. "You think he'll tell me that easily?"

" _Make him,_ " Spooky said grimly before leaving the house.

Cesar watched his brother walk out. He couldn't believe that he was a Santo now. He was so ready to take down the Prophets, but specifically Latrelle.

Cesar smirked at the thought. Yeah, he wanted Latrelle all to himself.

『••✎••』

Monse was still in bed. She never wanted to leave her room again. She was still super pissed at Cesar and Latrelle, and then finding out that her dad knew about it all along, pissed her off even more.

At that moment, her phone vibrated for the hundredth time. She grabbed it and saw Cesar texting her once again.

 **CESAR :** Please give me a chance to explain.

Monse rolled her eyes. Why couldn't he take a damn hint?! She wanted NOTHING to do with him anymore!

Then her father knocked on the door. "Monse, may I come in?" 

She sucked her teeth, completely ticked off. 

_Oh great, another person that I don't want to speak to right now._

Her father opened the door and peered inside. Monse didn't even acknowledge his presence.

He stepped into the room awkwardly. "Honey, I have to go to work today."

Monse stayed quiet. Her father sighed. "You can't hide in your room forever."

Monse sat up and gave him sass. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. How about you just go worry about that job of yours."

"Monse..."

She laid back down. "GOODBYE, daddy!" 

Monty didn't have time to appeal to her, he had to get to work. So instead, he just left the room sadly.

When he did, Monse screamed into her pillow, trying to let out her frustrations. She couldn't believe how quickly things turned upside down!

Then her phone vibrated once again. "I swear to god, Cesar!"

She picked up her phone expecting to see another pathetic attempt from Cesar trying to salvage their friendship, but instead she saw a text from one of the people that she actually liked. Jamal.

 **JAMAL :** Hey Monse. Tryna hang out later?

Monse sighed. At least she still had Jamal.

 **MONSE :** I'll think about it.

Monse looked around her room. She still had some things to unpack, so she got up and decided to finish. 

Thirty minutes later, she finished unpacking. She would've been finished sooner, but someone kept ringing the doorbell. Coincidentally, the doorbell rung again. 

What the hell? 

She went out into the hallway and stood at the top of the stairs. The bell rung again.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" she yelled from the top of the staircase. The bell rung again.

Monse stomped down the stairs, annoyed. "Did you forget your keys or something daddy—" she said while opening the door. There stood Latrelle looking finer than ever. Monse had to quickly remind herself that she hated him.

"Oh, I'm daddy now?" Latrelle joked.

Monse snorted. "Boy please. What the hell are you doing here? How do you know where I live?"

"We bumped into each other around here, remember? I saw you walk out of your house," he said.

"Great, now you're stalking me."

"I wouldn't call it stalking...just observing," Latrelle joked.

She rolled her eyes and tried to close the door, but he stopped her. She sucked her teeth. "What, Latrelle?"

"We need to talk."

"What do we possibly have to talk about?" Monse asked.

"About how I'm not dangerous."

Monse snorted again. "Nice joke."

"I'm serious. I would never put you in danger, unlike Cesar."

Monse rolled her eyes. "Don't say his name."

"Trust me, I don't want to. It puts a bad taste in my mouth."

Monse laughed a little. She didn't know why she was so weak around Latrelle. 

Monse examined him and damn he was fine. Was she crushing? Yup.

"See you're laughing. That's a good start," Latrelle said.

"Yeah well, I'm still angry," she replied.

"Then how about we take a walk, it'll help clear your head."

"You're joking right? I don't even feel comfortable going outside anymore!" Monse responded.

"You're on the good side of the neighborhood, I promise," Latrelle said with a smile. He put his hand out.

Monse sighed. How could she say no?

"Hold on," she said before closing the door. She quickly ran to her room and grabbed her keys and shoes. She ran back downstairs and opened the door.

"Ready?" Latrelle asked. She nodded. He put his hand out again and she held it. 

As they walked along the block, Monse looked around. It _was_ pretty quiet in her area.

"See, it's not so bad around here," Latrelle told her.

"I guess so." She looked at his outfit. "You look nice today."

"Thanks ma. You look...like you just rolled out of bed."

Monse looked down at her outfit. She was still in her PJs. " _Shit_!" 

She turned on her heels, ready to flee home, but Latrelle stopped her. "There's no need for that. No one's going to say shit while you're with me, trust me."

"Why? Because you're in a gang?" she asked.

Latrelle smirked. "Gang privileges I guess."

Monse rolled her eyes. "Do you really need to be in a gang, Latrelle? That never ends well. You have your whole life ahead of you. Can't you just leave?"

Latrelle looked at her earnestly. "It's never that simple."

"Why not?!"

Latrelle was getting annoyed. She asked a lot of questions. "Look around Monse, you're safe in this area. It ain't safe on my block. So yeah, I do need to be in a gang. It's not about the violence, it's about protection."

Monse looked puzzled so he elaborated. "If you're in a gang, you always know that you got backup in case shit gets real. That's why I'm in one," he explained.

Monse nodded in understanding. She never thought about it that way.

"Look Monse, I'm a real man. Unlike Cesar, I keep it real." Monse cringed when she heard Cesar's name. "So that's why I'm going to tell you this..." Latrelle continued. Monse looked at him worriedly. "There's about to be a war between us and them."

"Them? As in the Santos?" she asked worriedly. 

He nodded. "Cesar might get hurt, who knows, even I might."

Monse gulped. "Latrelle..."

Latrelle held her hands. "But just know that I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. No Prophet, and damn sure no Santo."

Monse didn't know what to say. "Latrelle, what are you implying?"

He took out a box and Monse's jaw dropped. Was he....proposing? 

_Oh please don't be proposing!_

He opened the box and it had two rings in it. One of the rings had the letter P and the other one had $.

"These are for me?" Monse asked curiously. 

"If you want them. One for each hand."

"But why do I need these? And what does the P and dollar sign mean?"

"Prophet$," Latrelle told her. "Look Monse, if you decide to be in my company still, the Santos are going to notice. If you decide to be in Cesar's company, the Prophets will notice. And if you choose both....you're stuck in the middle of two gangs. I don't think you want to do that. But if you do, that's fine, I won't stop you. I told you that I won't let anyone hurt you. But..."

"But what?"

"There might be a time when you have to choose. Especially when shit gets real. So I got you these rings. Wear these and every Prophet will know that you chose our side, _the winning side._ They'll protect you too," Latrelle explained.

Monse was frozen. Would she really have to choose a side? God damn, why did she have to move to Freeridge?!

"And if I choose none?" Monse asked nervously.

Latrelle looked at her with a straight face. "I don't think you want to do that either."

Monse swallowed hard and took the box from Latrelle. "Thank you for this. Thank you for telling me the truth."

Latrelle smiled. "I'll always keep it real with you." Then his phone vibrated. He read the text and smirked. "I have to go."

 _Is it gang related?_ , Monse thought. 

"Oh okay."

"Let me walk you back," Latrelle offered. They walked back to her house.

"Well, here we are," Monse said.

"I'll talk to you later?"

Monse smiled. "Of course."

He leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. "Bye beautiful." 

Then he walked off.

Monse stared at him and grinned. Latrelle was actually a sweet guy, he was just stuck in a shitty situation. 

Then her phone rung, snapping her out of her thoughts. Of course it was Cesar. She rolled her eyes, pressed deny, and closed the front door. 


	26. SHOOTOUT.

_❝ If I'm being honest, it felt kind of good. Does that make me dangerous? ❞_

  
Later that day, Cesar and Jamal were walking around together as they chatted about what happened at Cesar's party the night before.

"I can't believe he had the audacity to show up!" Jamal exclaimed.

"With his crew. Latrelle's different, Jamal. He's powerful now," Cesar warned.

"Yeah he must be if he had _Spooky_ scared."

"We were outnumbered. That's the only reason why he's still alive," Cesar explained.

Jamal shrugged. "I'm still trying to figure out what his unfinished business is."

"I told you to stop."

"But why? Maybe we can send his ass back to juvie!"

"If Latrelle finds out you're snooping on him, what do you think he'll do?!"

Jamal thought about it. "Probably snap my neck."

"Exactly."

Jamal threw his hands up. "But it's worth a try!"

"No, Jamal. Stay out of it. I'll handle him."

Jamal looked at him confused. "You? How?"

"I'm officially a Santos."

Jamal's jaw dropped. Then he bursted out laughing, which annoyed Cesar. He spoke with an attitude. "Really?"

Jamal stopped laughing when he saw the sour look that Cesar was giving him. "Oh...you're serious. How on earth did that happen?!"

Cesar shrugged. "After what Latrelle did, Spooky said we need all hands on deck."

"Damn he must be really scared if he made _you_ a Santos," Jamal commented, offending Cesar once again. He quickly apologized. " _Sorry_. But are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I don't have a choice, Jamal. Latrelle needs to be stopped."

"But—"

Cesar grabbed him by the shoulders. "You said it yourself, he has unfinished business. We need to shut him down."

"What about Monse?" Jamal asked.

"What about her?"

"I'm trying to help you out, Cesar. I'm trying to make her give you a chance, but if you're really in the gang...she's not going to like that."

Cesar hadn't thought about that. "Shit!" He paced back and forth, contemplating on what to do. "I have to tell her."

"Are you crazy? What part of 'she hates gangs' don't you understand?!"

"I can't hide this from her! She hates me because I wasn't honest with her in the first place!" Cesar disputed.

"And she's going to hate you even more."

Cesar sighed and looked at his texts. "She still hasn't replied to me. Has she talked to you today?"

Right on cue, Jamal's phone started ringing. It was Monse calling. Jamal awkwardly showed Cesar the caller ID and Cesar instantly frowned. Monse was clearly ignoring him and he hated it.

" _Sorry_ ," Jamal mouthed. He answered the phone and put it on speaker. "MONSE! Where are you?"

"I'm debating on whether or not I should come. Is Cesar there?" she asked.

Cesar mouthed NO while gesticulating wildly. Jamal felt under a lot of pressure and he does NOT do well under pressure! 

"No?" Jamal said, sounding unsure.

" _Jamal_ ," Monse said sternly.

"Okay, yes he is!" Jamal blurted out. Monse hung up quickly. 

Cesar was pissed. "Seriously?!"

Jamal put his hands up. "It was too much pressure!"

Cesar sighed. "How am I ever going to get her to talk to me?"

"Look on the bright side, she hates Latrelle too."

Cesar was glad to hear that. "Good."

They kept walking and talking.

"How's Ruby?" Cesar asked.

Jamal swallowed hard. "Um, I don't know."

"You guys aren't friends yet?"

"I don't know," Jamal repeated while looking at Ruby's text. "He texted me but I ignored it."

"Why?"

"Because I don't know if he's back to normal yet."

"Well, what did he say?" Cesar asked. Jamal showed him the text. Cesar shrugged. "He seems pretty normal to me. He wants to work things out."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Jamal countered.

Cesar thought about it. "Honestly, Ruby will never be one hundred percent normal until Isabella is out of the picture."

"I know right! But he's head over heels for her."

"Not for long," Cesar said while taking out his phone.

"What do you mean?"

"I have a voice recording of Isabella admitting that she's only using Ruby to get revenge on me," Cesar explained. "Once I show him it, you'll definitely get your friend back."

Jamal looked horrified. "No, you can't show him that!"

"Why not? Don't you want her out of the picture?"

"Ruby loves her. If you show him that, he's going to spiral out of control again. He's going to be super heartbroken," Jamal warned. Then a lightbulb went off in his head. "Wait...is that why you wanted to know his weaknesses?"

"Yeah..." Cesar admitted awkwardly. 

Jamal crossed his arms angrily. "Wow, you used me!" 

Cesar defended himself. "I did not! Jamal, you are my friend. I'm just trying to help you get _your_ friend back. That's the least I can do since I'm the reason why you guys fell off."

Jamal glared at Cesar. "Don't show him that, **ever**. I mean it."

"So we're just going to let Isabella keep using him? You think he deserves that?"

"Don't show him! EVER!" Jamal snapped. 

Cesar stepped back a little, alarmed. He'd never seen Jamal this livid.

Then his phone vibrated. He got excited thinking that it was Monse finally coming around, but it was just Spooky. 

Cesar read the text and then put his phone away. "I have to go on patrol."

"Patrol?"

"Spooky wants me to patrol around the block with Pablo and a group of other Santos. You know, make sure Latrelle's not around," Cesar responded.

Jamal shrugged. "Whatever. I'm out."

"Alright bye."

『••✎••』

Five minutes later, Cesar arrived at his destination. When he got there, he saw Pablo and some other Santos waiting for his arrival. Pablo was basically Spooky's right hand man.

"Little Caesar's! How you been, man?" Pablo greeted. The other Santos greeted him too.

"I've been good."

"That's good to hear! I see you're a Santos now. I'm happy to see that you're finally ready to get your hands dirty."

Cesar laughed a little. "Yeah, this is the first time Spooky's letting me get in on the action."

"Speaking of action, here you go," Pablo said before handing Cesar a gun.

Cesar's back stiffened and his whole body tensed up. "A gun?"

"In case we do run into some action. Take it."

Cesar grabbed the gun reluctantly. Pablo made an announcement. "Well that's everybody. Let's start this patrol. Make sure those Prophets stay off our streets!"

"YEAH!" the Santos cheered. They all began walking off. Cesar, however, was stuck in place, staring down at the gun in his palm. He swallowed hard and then put it in his pocket and walked.

"Cesar, you're in the front with me," Pablo told him.

Cesar walked to the front. "Are you sure?"

Pablo chuckled. "You seem nervous." 

"I just never did this before."

"And that's why you're going to be in the front. You need the experience," Pablo told him. "Have you ever shot a gun?"

"When I was younger, yeah. Oscar was teaching me. But it's been a long time..." Cesar answered.

Pablo smirked. "Well, hopefully you get to use it today."

"Hopefully? You want the Prophets to show up?"

"Hell yeah I do, I want some blood on my hands today," Pablo said which made Cesar swallow hard. Pablo then turned around to look at the rest of the group. "YOU GUYS WANT SOME BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS?"

"YEAH!"

"What about you, Cesar?" Pablo asked.

Cesar stayed quiet for a while. Then he looked at Pablo. "Only if it's Latrelle's blood."

The Santos cheered. Pablo patted him on the back. "There you go! You're learning."

"Yo! Look across the street!" a Santo shouted. They all looked and saw about ten people dressed in green.

"Are those Prophets?" Cesar asked nervously.

"You know they are, boy!" Pablo shouted before pulling out his gun. "WHY THE FUCK ARE Y'ALL ON OUR STREETS?!" he yelled at them.

"This is OUR block now!" a Prophet fired back. 

At this point, everyone had their guns out except for Cesar. He was completely frozen.

"YOU'RE A DEAD MAN NOW!" Pablo yelled at them. He shot at the Prophet.

Next thing Cesar knew, a bunch of guns were firing. He was still frozen in complete shock. A bullet went past his head, snapping him out of his shock. He instantly bent down behind a car for cover. All the other Santos were doing the same and so were the Prophets. They were taking shots and then ducking down. 

Out of nowhere, there was a whistle. A bunch of cars came driving down the street. The Prophets in the cars started shooting at them.

"What the fuck? A drive by?!" Pablo exclaimed. He looked at Cesar, who was practically shitting his pants. "Boy, you better take that gun out and start shooting!"

Cesar slowly took his gun out. A bunch of cars were still coming. He got up, took a shot, and then ducked back down.

"WHO'S DEAD NOW?" a Prophet yelled.

"STILL YOU!" Pablo yelled back before taking a shot.

Cesar took another shot. He ducked down just in time because another bullet flew past him. He was officially freaking out. He didn't expect this.

"Cesar, pull it together! You're a man now! You wanted Latrelle's blood, remember?! He might be here for all we know!" Pablo told him.

Cesar thought about it. Was Latrelle there? 

He looked at the other Santos and saw that one of them was shot. He inhaled sharply. "He's hurt!"

Pablo looked and his eyes widened. "Handle the Prophets!" he told Cesar. He made his way to the injured Santo, using the cars as cover.

Cesar knew he had to be a man. No more hiding behind Spooky. 

He popped up and took several shots. He tried to see if he saw Latrelle, but he didn't. Then he ducked back down. 

Another car came down the street and Cesar shot out one of the tires. However, the car still got away. 

Just then, there were police sirens in the distance. The cops were coming.

"The feds!" a Prophet announced. 

There was another whistle and then some getaway cars came and took the Prophets. Cesar tried to get some shots in but missed.

"Let's go! Carry him!" Pablo shouted. All of the Santos quickly ran off in different directions. "Let's go, Cesar!"

Cesar ran all the way home. When he got home, he quickly locked the door. He leaned against it trying to slow his heart rate. He couldn't believe that they just got into a shootout! Was Latrelle even there? 

He quickly dialed Monse's number. He had to make sure she was safe. Surprisingly, she answered. 

"Cesar, can you get a clue? I hate you!" Monse spat.

"Monse! Are you okay?!" Cesar asked urgently.

"Why wouldn't I be okay?"

"Have you seen Latrelle?"

Monse was annoyed. "Cesar, I'm not about to sit here and listen to you tell me how dangerous Latrelle is."

"He's dangerous, Monse. I swear it!" Cesar warned.

"And what does that make you?"

Cesar stayed quiet. She had a point. He was a Santo now.

"Monse...there's something I need to tell you."

"Save it for someone who cares!" she spat before hanging up.

Cesar sighed. He still had no clue if Latrelle was in the shootout or not. He stayed on alert until Spooky got home.

『••✎••』

That night, Spooky finally arrived. Cesar jumped up at the sound of the door unlocking. Spooky laughed at his reaction. "Woah, calm down."

"Are you crazy, Oscar?!"

"I'm guessing you didn't like your first day," Spooky joked.

"There was a shootout!"

"I know."

"You know? That's all you're gonna say? One of us was shot!"

"He's fine," Spooky assured him.

"Why are you so calm?! The Prophets are roaming around here! They did a drive by!"

"That was the plan."

"PLAN?" Cesar repeated.

"You guys distracted them like we needed you to," Spooky explained.

Cesar couldn't believe his ears. "You were behind this?"

"Everyone knew about it. Except you of course."

Cesar scowled at him. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Because you'd act like a little bitch like you are now!" Spooky hissed. "I heard you did good out there though."

Cesar paced around angrily. "I can't believe this. I could've died!"

"You're a Santo now, Cesar. That means that you have to accept the fact that you might die every time you walk out of that door!" Spooky fired back. Cesar was shook.

"Now, I thank you for being such a good sport," Spooky continued.

"Okay...so we distracted them for what?"

"Well, they were so busy focusing on you guys so we were able to easily snoop around their block," Spooky answered.

"How did they know where we were?"

"A little anonymous tip, from us of course."

Cesar shook his head in disbelief. "You're crazy."

Spooky shrugged. "That's the only way to be."

"So what did you find out?" Cesar asked.

"Yeah, that's the bad part...we didn't find much. Latrelle knows what he's doing."

"Well, we have to go back! Latrelle is up to something!" Cesar urged.

"We will, just not now. It's too hot." 

Cesar sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "It was really crazy out there, Oscar..."

Spooky put his hand on Cesar's shoulder. "But you got through it. You're a man now."

Cesar nodded briefly and then spoke shamefully. "If I'm being honest, it felt kind of good," he admitted. Spooky just laughed. "Does that make me dangerous?"

Spooky smirked. "That's the only way to be." 


	27. LATRELLE OVER EVERYTHING.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> double posted.

_❝ Latrelle this, Latrelle that! What HASN'T Latrelle told you? ❞_

  
Sunday morning, Ruby was asleep at his desk in his room. He had been up all night finishing his essay. 

Geny knocked on the door as she stood in the doorway. "Ruby?"

Ruby was completely knocked out. She rolled her eyes and walked up to him, swatting at him. "Ruby, get up."

Ruby twitched a little but didn't awaken. Geny's patience was running thin. She walked back to the door and slammed it shut. 

Ruby jumped out of his skin. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

"That was the door. I slammed it." 

Ruby rubbed his eyes groggily. "Why?"

Geny checked the time. "It's eleven and you're still sleeping. You missed breakfast."

"Sorry, I was up all night doing that stupid essay."

"Did you fall asleep at your desk?"

"Yup."

"Well, go get your self cleaned up."

"Ma, I'm tireddddd," Ruby whined. 

"Now, Ruby."

"But why? I don't have anywhere to go. I'm grounded remember?"

"You have chores to do."

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows. "Chores? Since when do I do chores?"

"Since today," she said while throwing a sponge at him. "I have to step out for a bit. Do not leave this house, and I expect this house to be cleaned when I get back." 

Geny left the room before he could open his mouth to protest. Ruby groaned. He was so exhausted. 

He was getting ready to hop in the shower, but his phone vibrated. He had a text from Isabella.

 **ISABELLA :** Where have you been? I haven't heard from you yesterday.

Ruby stared at the text. Something was bothering him about Isabella. Was she really Latrelle's ex? And did she love Ruby or was he really just a rebound?

 **RUBY :** Yeah sorry, I'm grounded.

 **ISABELLA :** You still get grounded?

 **RUBY :** Apparently. 

**ISABELLA :** What did you do?

 **RUBY :** How about we talk about this in person?

 **ISABELLA :** But you're grounded.

 **RUBY :** Just come over.

Ruby put his phone down. His mother said that he couldn't leave the house, she never said he couldn't invite people _in_. 

Ruby quickly went to get ready. By the time he was finished, Isabella was knocking on the door. He opened it with a radiating smile. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Isabella beamed and stepped inside. She scanned around his house. This was the first time she actually stepped inside of his house and it was...interesting.

"I know the house is a mess. I'm on chores duty but that can wait until later," Ruby told her.

"It's fine. I'm just happy that I get to see the inside of your house for once. You know, with me always having to stay outside and all."

"That won't be the case anymore. I told my mom about us," Ruby said before sitting down.

Isabella was shocked. "Really?"

"How do you think I got grounded in the first place? I told my mother everything...even about Jamal."

"Wow. That was really brave, Ruby."

"Yeah, everything was going well until I told her that I almost died. And now I'm on house arrest."

"Maybe it's for the best," Isabella said with a shrug. 

"I'm not bothered about it. I need to lay low, especially with Latrelle being around." 

Ruby glanced over at her. She seemed uncomfortable when Latrelle's name was mentioned. "Actually, something IS bothering me," Ruby admitted. "Something Monse said at the party. About you and Latrelle."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Ruby, drop it."

"Is it true? You guys were a thing?"

"Yes, Ruby."

"WHY? I mean I-i-i'm not jealous or anything. I'm just asking."

Isabella shrugged. "I liked him. He was a sweet talker. He always knew what to say."

Ruby felt uncomfortable. "So...what happened?"

"He got locked up."

"Oh...sorry about that," Ruby said awkwardly. "So if he didn't get locked up, you guys would still be together?"

Isabella sighed. "I don't know, Ruby."

"And I'm pretty much the rebound..." Ruby continued.

"No you are not, Ruby! This was a while ago!"

"Not his rebound. Cesar's," Ruby clarified.

Isabella rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I don't like Cesar."

"But you did and he rejected you. Then you came to me." Ruby shook his head angrily. "Ma was right."

"Ruby, no! That's not true!"

Ruby stood up and gave her a distasteful look. "Maybe you should go. Ma could be home any minute."

"Ruby—"

" _Just go_ ," Ruby said in a low grim tone. 

Isabella refused. "No."

"Isabella—"

"I LOVE YOU!" Isabella blurted out.

Ruby's jaw's dropped. He gaped at her, not sure if he heard that correctly. 

He fumbled over his words. "Y-Y-You l-love me?"

"I do. More than I thought I could ever love someone," Isabella confessed. 

Ruby tried to hold in his excitement. He walked up to her and grabbed her hands. "I love you too, Isabella."

She beamed. "So can we stop talking about Latrelle and Cesar? They don't matter."

He nodded. "You're right, my bad. I just needed to know."

"Well, I guess I should go. I don't want you to get in trouble."

Ruby shook his head vigorously. "No, stay! I want you to meet my ma."

Isabella looked unsure. "But from what you said, she doesn't seem to like me."

"Because she hasn't met you. Stay please?" Ruby pleaded.

Isabella giggled at his puppy dog eyes. How could she say no to that? "Fine. But I'm not helping you clean the house."

Ruby smirked. "Oh trust me baby, we're about to make this house messier."

『••✎••』

Jamal was getting ready to meet up with Monse. He walked out of his room and saw his parents standing right there waiting for him.

"Where are you going?" his dad questioned.

"To hang with a friend."

"Cesar?" his mom asked.

Jamal rolled his eyes. "No mom, it's a girl."

Mr. Turner was proud of Jamal. He smirked and patted Jamal on the shoulder approvingly. "I knew you had it in you, son."

"It's not like that. She's just a friend."

"Sure."

Jamal sucked his teeth. He didn't have time for this. "Whatever, can I go now?"

"We need to talk to you," Mrs. Turner stated. 

"Well can we make this quick because I don't want to keep her waiting. She's not pretty when she's angry," Jamal told them.

"Oh, so you think she's pretty?" his dad teased.

Jamal was irritated. He rubbed his forehead and muttered, " _Oh my god._ "

"Okay, enough," Mrs. Turner interjected. "Jamal, I just wanted to apologize for showing up at your school unannounced. I shouldn't have. I was just worried when I heard that Latrelle was back. You've been hanging out with Cesar and I wasn't sure if Latrelle would want to hurt you because of that."

"Mom, I'm fine. Latrelle doesn't bother me. I do my best to avoid him," Jamal assured her.

"I see that now. I'm sorry, Jamal."

"You're getting older Jamal, we can't keep telling you who to hang out with. So we won't butt in anymore. If you want to hang out with Cesar, go ahead," his dad told him.

"And Ruby," his mother added.

"And this new mystery girl," his dad finished.

Jamal was surprised to hear that. "Really?"

"Yes. Just please make sure you stay safe."

"I will mom, I promise."

She kissed him on the forehead. "Alright, go to your girlfriend."

"Mom!" 

"Just kidding!"

Jamal hugged his parents and left the house. He called Monse. 

"I'm ready," she said when she answered. 

"Bet."  
  


『••✎••』

A little while later, Jamal arrived at the clothing store.

"Jamal!" 

He followed the voice and saw Monse standing in front of the store. He walked up to her and she complimented him. "Wow, you look nice."

"Like every day," Jamal bragged.

Monse laughed and rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah okay."

"Why are we here anyway?"

"I need new clothes, duh. This Cali weather is nothing like NY."

"Well duh, it's Cali. What did you expect?"

"Thank you captain obvious," Monse retorted. Jamal laughed and they headed inside the store. Monse scanned around and saw a lot of cute clothes.

"You know, I feel uncomfortable being in the ladies section," Jamal said awkwardly.

"Are you always this much of a baby?"

Jamal's jaw dropped. "I am not!"

"You know, you can always buy something for yourself, Jamal," Monse reminded him.

"I'll pass."

Monse shrugged and continued looking around. She grabbed a shirt and held it up over her body. "Do you think this screams 'Cali girl?'"

They both looked at each other with a straight face and didn't utter a word. Then they both shook their heads and said, "NAHHHH!" Then they laughed.

Monse spoke as she put the top back. "You know, I haven't seen that one guy around lately. Ruby, was it? He's pretty cool."

Jamal swallowed hard and spoke sheepishly. "I haven't either." He still hadn't answered Ruby's text.

"Well, we'll see him tomorrow."

"Yup, we sure will," Jamal said, faking a smile.

"Now that I think about it, Latrelle said something about Ruby fighting Cesar. Is that true?" Monse recalled.

Jamal rolled his eyes. "Latrelle this, Latrelle that! What HASN’T Latrelle told you?"

Monse furrowed her eyebrows. "What's your problem?"

"I thought you hated him?"

Monse shrugged. "We worked things out."

She grabbed a couple of shirts and took them to the register. Jamal was staring at her in disbelief. "Excuse me, worked it out?!"

"That's what I said Jamal," she retorted. She spoke to the cashier. "How much?"

The cashier said thirty dollars. She gave the cashier the money and grabbed her bag. She headed for the door but Jamal grabbed her. 

"You worked it out with Latrelle but not Cesar?"

"Latrelle was actually man enough to tell me what's going on around here."

"We tried!" Jamal exclaimed.

"Well not hard enough!" Monse shouted back before walking out of the store.

"Oh no, you don't get to walk away from me!" Jamal said before grabbing her arm again.

"Jamal, let it go!"

"Why won't you let Cesar explain himself?!"

"There's nothing Cesar can tell me that I don't already know! Latrelle told me everything yesterday," Monse told him.

"Yesterday?"

"Yes, yesterday. Now answer my question, did Ruby fight Cesar?" she asked again.

"How about you ask Cesar yourself?" Jamal retorted.

"You're right. I'll ask Ruby."

Jamal groaned and stomped his foot. "You are such a smart ass!"

"Thanks."

Then Jamal's phone rung. It was Cesar. "Speaking of the devil."

"Let me guess, Cesar?"

"I'll be back," Jamal said before moving away from her to answer the call. "What, Cesar? I'm kind of busy!"

"Doing what?" Cesar asked curiously.

"Trying to help you out like I said I would."

"Wait, Monse's there?!" Cesar asked eagerly.

"She is and she still hates you," Jamal answered. Cesar sighed. "But get this, she made up with Latrelle!"

"WHAT?"

"I know! I can't believe it either. He must have her under a spell or something."

"Look, you have to tell her to stay away from him," Cesar urged.

"I tried that many times—"

"There was a shootout yesterday, Jamal. And I'm pretty sure Latrelle was there," Cesar informed him.

Jamal's eyes widened. "What? Where?"

"On our territory. The Prophets are walking around like they own the shit."

Jamal paced around frantically. "Oh man, this ain't good."

"I know. So you need to tell her to stay away from him right now!"

"And you're sure Latrelle was involved?" Jamal asked.

"I didn't see him, but there was a drive by too. He could've been in one of those cars."

"WAIT, you were there?!" Jamal shouted. He looked back at Monse, praying that she didn't hear that. She did.

"Yes, it happened when we went on patrol."

Jamal let out a relieved breath. "Thank god I left." 

"Jamal, focus!" Cesar snapped.

"I mean, you said you didn't see him, and Monse said she was with him yesterday. I don't think he was involved," Jamal replied.

Cesar's ears perked up. "She was with him?"

"Uh, yeah..."

"What time?" Cesar wondered.

Jamal didn't know the answer to that. "Hold please," he said before putting down the phone and walking up to Monse.

Monse had crossed arms and spoke with an attitude. "Did he finally hang up?" 

"No, but I have a question for you. What time did you see Latrelle?" he asked.

"Like, early in the morning. Nine or ten maybe."

"Gotcha," Jamal said before moving away again.

"ARE YOU TELLING CESAR?!" Monse yelled.

"Cesar, she said early in the morning around nine or ten."

" _Yup, he's telling Cesar_ ," Monse grumbled.

"The shootout happened around four," Cesar recalled.

"So he could've been there..." Jamal realized.

"Jamal..." Cesar started.

"I know. Hold please," Jamal said before walking up to Monse again.

Monse rolled her eyes. "What does Cesar want to know now?"

"Cesar wants YOU to know that there was a shootout on their territory yesterday."

Monse's eyes widened for a second. Then she pretended like she didn't care. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because Latrelle was involved."

Monse gasped. "What? Was he hurt?!"

"Well, Cesar didn't exactly see him but—"

"Then he's lying. But that's nothing new," Monse interrupted.

"I'm telling you the truth, Monse!" Cesar shouted through the phone.

Monse heard him and scoffed. "Oh please, we all know that's something you're incapable of!"

" _Let me just put this on speaker,_ " Jamal muttered to himself.

"Can you stop being hardheaded for one second? I'm trying to protect you!" Cesar told her.

"It's too late. Latrelle already does that."

"He's the one you need to be protected from!" Cesar argued.

Monse sucked her teeth. "I'm done listening to you bash on Latrelle! I get it okay, you rep different gangs. But don't sit here and make me choose between you or him because I don't think you'll like my choice!" she spat. She began walking off. "Bye Jamal."

Jamal watched her leave with a frown. "Damn...Cesar you good?"

"Not one bit. He brainwashed her."

Jamal swallowed hard. "Um, Cesar..."

"What?"

"She would choose Latrelle, wouldn't she?" Jamal asked nervously.

"Yes Jamal," Cesar said angrily. "And that's why we're getting rid of him." 


	28. PARTNER’S IN CRIME.

❝ _Let's hope those rumors about them never missing aren't true!_ ❞

A couple of hours later, Ruby was still home with Isabella. He came out of the kitchen and brushed his hands off. "There, all done." He sat next to Isabella. "Sorry for the wait, baby."

"It's fine. I just watched a movie, took a nap, woke up, took another nap—"

Ruby laughed and cut her off. "Okay, now you're lying. I did not take that long." 

Isabella laughed. "Yeah you're right, you only took thirty minutes."

"Really? Damn. I don't know why my ma has me doing chores anyway. I never do chores."

Isabella shrugged. "All I know is that you lost the bet."

"Yeah I know, I said fifteen minutes."

"You know what you have to do now, right?" Isabella asked.

Ruby stood up. "This?" He began unzipping his pants but an angry voice suddenly called his name, making his heart drop.

" **RUBEN**!"

Ruby quickly zipped up his pants. "MA?!" 

"What on **EARTH** are you doing?!" 

"N-nothing!" he lied, sitting down quickly.

Geny walked closer. "Who is this fast little girl sitting on my couch? Don't tell me this is Isabella." 

"I am ma'am," Isabella answered.

Geny was disgusted. "Why are you in my house? Didn't I tell you that you're grounded, Ruby?!" 

"Yes...but you didn't say I couldn't invite people _over_."

"Why couldn't you have invited someone decent over, like Jamal? Not her," Geny hissed, glaring at Isabella.

"Ma stop," Ruby said through gritted teeth.

Isabella spoke. "Look, I know you may not like me but—"

"Don't you dare talk to me like I'm one of your friends!" Geny snapped. "You're the reason why my son is all messed up! He almost died because of you!"

"Ma, stop it!" Ruby demanded. 

"No, it's okay Ruby. I can handle her insults," Isabella said.

Geny continued snapping on her. "You think it's cute to use my son as a rebound?"

"I'm not a rebound!" Ruby answered for Isabella.

"Ruby, shut up! You really think this girl loves you?!"

Ruby defended his girlfriend. "She told me she does and I believe her!"

"I love Ruby with all of my heart. I would never hurt him," Isabella affirmed.

Ruby smiled at her. "I love you too, Isabella."

Geny wanted to throw up in her mouth. Isabella may be fooling Ruby, but she was not fooling her! "Ruby you said it yourself, she only came running to you because Cesar rejected her." She faced Isabella. "So let's be real, if Cesar wanted you, you would be telling him you love him right now too."

"MA!" Ruby yelled.

Isabella rolled her eyes and stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ruby." She headed for the door.

Ruby chased after her. "No, Isabella don't leave!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay? _In a less hostile environment_." She glared at Geny one final time and then slammed the door.

Ruby was fuming. He looked at his mother. "REALLY? I invited her over for you to MEET her, not DISRESPECT her!"

"I don't want that hoochie anywhere near this house, got it?" Geny told him.

"Are you really that miserable that you have to ruin everything good that I have going for me?!" Ruby spat.

Geny gasped at his disrespect. "Don't you dare speak to me that way!"

"I know dad's always too busy, but that doesn't give you the right to try and make me lonely too! This is the first time I really loved someone, and you're not happy for me because you're jealous!" Ruby accused.

"Jealous of a seventeen-year-old? Ruben, do you HEAR yourself?!" Geny scoffed and shook her head disappointedly. "That girl has you on a leash." 

"And dad needs to put YOU on one!" Ruby fired back before storming off to his room. He slammed the door shut.

Geny stood in place angrily. "Did this little boy just...?" She took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "Let me go calm down before I hurt him," she said before going to her room.

Ruby sat on his bed with tears in his eyes. He was so frustrated. He didn't want to lose Isabella over this.

He grabbed his phone and immediately saw his lock screen. He wished he could discuss this with Jamal, but Jamal still hadn't texted him back.

_Great, something else to worry about._

Ruby threw his phone on the floor in frustration. It shattered into pieces.

He instantly regretted that decision. He covered his mouth with a shaky breath. "Oh my god. No, no, no, not now!" 

Ruby kneeled on the ground and picked up the pieces. He tried putting the phone back together to no avail. "DAMN IT! FUCK!"

He should've picked a different time to argue with his mother because mommy definitely wasn't buying him a new phone now.

『••✎••』

It was now dark outside. Jamal and Cesar's plan was about to be put into motion. They decided to meet up at Jamal's house.

Jamal was standing outside waiting for Cesar to pick him up. Luckily his parents didn't question where he was going. He liked this new freedom that they were giving him.

Cesar pulled up in his brother's car and rolled down the window. "Come on."

Jamal got in the passenger seat and put on his seatbelt. "I can't believe I agreed to this."

"I need you, Jamal. You want to save Monse, don't you?" 

"Of course I do, that's why I'm doing this suicidal shit!" Jamal replied. 

"You were about to take a bullet for Ruby. I think you can handle this."

Jamal glared at him. Cesar swallowed hard. "Not saying we're gonna be shot but—"

"Just drive."

"Got it," Cesar said before driving off.

"Spooky really let you borrow his car for this?" Jamal asked as they drove.

"Yeah, about that..."

Jamal glanced over at him, sensing his hesitation. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Of course not. He would've tried to stop me."

"What the fuck, Cesar! What if we need back up?!"

"We don't have any," Cesar bluntly said.

Jamal had a panicked look on his face. "Oh my god."

"Relax. We're staying in the car. We just wanna see what Latrelle's up to. They won't notice us," Cesar assured him.

"I hope the fuck not!"

"I hope not too."

Jamal jerked his head on to Cesar. "You're not even confident in this idea?!" 

Cesar bit his lip nervously. "A little bit?"

Jamal panicked even more. "OHH GODDD, momma please forgive me!"

『••✎••』

They arrived at Latrelle's block. Cesar parked the car. There was nobody loitering outside. It was dead quiet.

"Where's Latrelle? And everyone else? It feels like a ghost town," Jamal wondered.

"I have no idea..." Cesar said while scanning the area.

Jamal felt sick to his stomach. "Okay, this is a bad idea. He's probably sleeping or something, let's go."

"No. Latrelle operates at night. He's around here somewhere." 

"Yeah, and I'm not trying to find out who he's going to operate on NEXT!" Jamal retorted.

"Jamal, shut up! Nothing's going to happen!" Cesar shouted. Then he looked at Latrelle's house. A Prophet knocked on the door. "Look, Jamal!"

Latrelle walked out and greeted the Prophet.

"Oh my god, that's Latrelle's house?" Jamal asked.

"Yeah it is."

Then the Prophet gave Latrelle a bag. Latrelle opened it and smiled. "Good work," they heard Latrelle say.

" _What's in the bag, Latrelle_?" Cesar asked himself.

"I don't know, but I'm getting the feeling it's a head..." Jamal said nervously.

Cesar gave Jamal a brief glare and then he looked back at Latrelle. The Prophet whispered something into Latrelle's ear. Latrelle smirked and looked directly at them.

Jamal's eyes widened. "Um Cesar, I don't think he's supposed to be looking at us!"

"SHIT!"

Cesar quickly started the car. They heard Latrelle's deadly whistle. A bunch of Prophets ran out of their houses and started taking shots at their car. Cesar quickly drove off.

"FOLLOW THEIR ASS!" Latrelle ordered.

"Where the fuck did they come from?!" Jamal fretted.

"I don't know!" Cesar exclaimed, looking in the rearview mirror. There was a car chasing them. "Shit!"

Jamal was freaking out. "What happened to we won't be seen?!"

"Shut up, Jamal!"

The Prophets were shooting at them. Jamal ducked his head. "Let's hope those rumors about them never missing aren't true!"

Cesar drove as fast as he could. The Prophets weren't losing them.

"Let's just drive to your block!" Jamal suggested.

"No, we can't," Cesar objected.

"WHY?"

"They aren't scared of our block anymore." 

"Then where the fuck do we go?!" Jamal asked before looking behind them. "They're on our tail!"

"I guess we're about to find out," Cesar replied.

Jamal put his face in his hands. "Oh my god, we're dead."

"Jamal..."

"Yeah?"

"Hang on tight. This is gonna be a wild ride," Cesar warned.

"Wha-" Jamal couldn't finish the sentence. Cesar was going full speed. "Slow the fuck down! I'm going to get motion sickness!"

Cesar looked behind them. The Prophets were finally losing them.

"Ummm, CESAR!" Jamal yelled.

Cesar turned back around and his eyes widened. " _Oh shit._ "

They were heading towards a body of water.

"Stop the damn car!" Jamal demanded.

"I can't, it's too fast!" Cesar told him.

"What the fuck do you mean?!?"

"Jamal...I hope you know how to tuck and roll," Cesar warned.

"Tuck and what?"

"Tuck and ROLL!" Cesar said while opening the car door and jumping out. He rolled into a ball. When he landed, he looked behind and saw that the Prophets were still on them but they were far away. Then he looked at Jamal. Jamal surprisingly did the tuck and roll. 

He ran up to Jamal. "You good?!"

"I'm never doing that shit again," Jamal grumbled while brushing himself off. Then their car splashed into the water. "How the fuck are we getting home?"

"I didn't think about that," Cesar admitted. He looked back again. The Prophets were coming. "Come on, we gotta go."

They ran into an alley not too far away. There was a bat on the ground.

"Here," Cesar said, giving Jamal the bat.

"A bat? They have guns, Cesar! You ever hear the saying, 'Don't bring a knife to a gunfight?!"

Cesar looked confused. "That's not a knife, that's a bat." 

Jamal rolled his eyes. "Yes, but technically—" 

"We don't have time for this, Jamal!"

Cesar peeked around the corner. The Prophets got out of their car and were heading their way.

"It's only two of them. One for you and one for me," Cesar informed him. 

"What are you going to use?" Jamal asked. Cesar pulled out his gun. "Well that answers my question."

"Just stay there and hide in the shadows," Cesar ordered.

"How do you know they won't see me?" Then Jamal realized. " _Because I'm black._ "

"Just wait for my damn signal!" Cesar hissed.

Jamal hid. They heard the Prophets getting closer.

"You think they crashed into the water?" one of them asked.

"I hope so. But let's check this alley and make sure," the other one said.

They rounded the corner and Cesar pistol-whipped the first one. He fell to the floor. Then Cesar quickly tried to grab the other Prophets gun. The Prophet tried to shoot Cesar, but Cesar pointed the gun upwards just in time. The Prophet was trying his hardest to point the gun at Cesar, but Cesar kept pointing it upwards.

"Let go of the gun and I might let you live!" Cesar threatened.

The Prophet snickered. "You're just as stuck as I am."

"I am. But he's not."

The Prophet was confused. "Who?"

Then Jamal hit him on the head with the bat. "ME BITCH!" 

The Prophet was knocked out.

Cesar smirked and praised him. "Good shit!"

"Did we really just do that shit?!" Jamal celebrated briefly but then looked worried. "Wait, are they dead?" 

"I doubt it," Cesar said, picking up their guns. "We could use these."

"I'll pass. But um, Cesar, we should probably get out of here before they wake up, right?" Jamal asked.

"Yeah, but how?" Cesar scanned around and looked at the Prophets car. "We have to take their car."

"Are you crazy? They'll track it down!"

"We'll ditch it halfway," Cesar said while searching their pockets. He retrieved the keys. "Come on."

They got inside of the Prophets car and started driving off. Cesar glanced over at Jamal. "How you feeling?"

"What a fucking rush!" Jamal said excitedly.

"Well, there's more where that came from," Cesar remarked. He smiled at Jamal. "I think we make a good team."

Jamal agreed. "We sure do. But Cesar, what is Spooky going to say about his car?" 

"I'll worry about that later. What I'm trying to figure out is...what was in that bag that Latrelle had?"

"I don't know, but that's our first piece of the puzzle," Jamal told him. 

And what a long puzzle it was. 


	29. YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME?

❝ _I do. I'm controlling all these bitches._ ❞

Monday morning, Monse was in her room on the phone with her best friend Kayla.

"So update me, what's going on? You haven't spoken to me all weekend," Kayla wondered.

"It's nothing Kayla," Monse responded.

"It's obviously something if you're too busy for me."

"I'd be here all day if I told you what was going on. Besides, I don't even know where to start," Monse told her.

"Well start somewhere."

"Well I have twenty minutes to get to school so, can't," Monse said as she put on her necklace that Kayla gave her.

"And I have...twenty seconds to get to class," Kayla replied with a laugh.

"Go to class. We'll talk later."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

"MONSE!" her father yelled from downstairs.

Monse rolled her eyes. "Bye," she said before hanging up.

Her father barged into her room. "Are you out of your mind?!?!"

"What?"

"I thought you didn't want to be around the gangs?" Monty asked.

"I don't."

"So why is Latrelle knocking on our door saying that he's here to take you to school?!"

Monse's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?" she asked excitedly. She quickly dashed out of her room.

Monty followed behind her. "Monse, I asked you a question!"

"Latrelle's my friend," Monse answered.

"Why? That boy is nothing but trouble!"

Monse swiveled around angrily. "I swear to god, if I hear that one more time!"

"So you've been told this before and you're still in his company?"

"Latrelle's actually a sweet guy, dad. He's just stuck in a shitty situation," Monse defended, heading for the door.

"Don't you dare open that door!" Monty said sternly.

Monse shrugged. "Too late." She opened the door and Latrelle stood on the other side with a smile on his face.

"Hey beautiful," Latrelle greeted. "You ready to go?"

"I sure am," Monse replied. "Bye, daddy."

Monty stormed up to the door. "GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!"

"DAD, STOP!"

"SHE DOESN’T NEED TO BE INVOLVED IN YOUR VIOLENCE!" Monty snapped.

Latrelle put his hands up. "I don't mean your daughter any harm!"

"LIKE HELL YOU DON’T!" Monty hissed.

"STOP!" Monse intervened. "If you cared about my safety, we wouldn't have moved here! I was doing just fine in NY!"

Monse stormed off and Monty yelled after her. "MONSE!"

Latrelle snickered at Monty. "Damn, you fucked up."

Monty's jaw dropped as Latrelle followed behind Monse. Did that little boy just disrespect him?

Monty just slammed the door before he did something he regretted.

"Wait up!" Latrelle told Monse as he ran up to her.

Monse halted and sighed. "I don't know how much longer I can take this, Latrelle."

Latrelle held her shoulders and spoke softly. "Hey, calm down."

"Everyone keeps trying to keep me away from you because they say you're dangerous. Then why do I feel the safest with you?" Monse asked.

"Don't listen to them hating ass bitches. They don't wanna see us shine," Latrelle said. "And tell them to come see me and stop whispering behind my back."

"I'm not going to say that, Latrelle."

"Well either way, don't pay them no mind. They can't do anything for you."

Monse raised an eyebrow. "And you can?"

"I can give you the world girl," Latrelle answered. "If you let me."

Monse's cheeks flushed red. "You're a sweet talker."

"I've been told."

Then they walked off to school. When they arrived, Latrelle held her hand. Monse looked over at him. He smiled and she smiled back.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Only if you are," Monse replied.

"Let's go then."

They headed up the school steps. There were a bunch of students staring at them and whispering. Monse heard one girl ask, "Are they a couple?"

Monse thought about it. Were they?

They kept walking up the stairs. Monse saw Ruby and Isabella staring at them with dropped jaws. She waved at Ruby only.

Then she looked to her right and saw Jamal and Cesar staring at her displeasingly. She quickly averted her gaze. She wasn't going to pay them any mind like Latrelle said.

Suddenly, Latrelle stopped at the top of the steps and faced the students.

" _What are you doing?_ " Monse asked in a whisper.

Latrelle addressed the students. "I see all of you whispering about us, wondering if we're together or not."

Monse's eyes widened. " _Latrelle..._ "

"Well guess what? It's your lucky day because we are. Right baby?" Latrelle asked Monse.

Monse froze. Was she hearing this correctly?

She glanced over at her 'friends.' Jamal was shaking his head no while gesticulating wildly, Cesar's face was red as he fumed, and Ruby was still staring in disbelief.

"Monse?" Latrelle called, waiting for her answer.

Monse took a deep breath and then she said the two most painful words to Cesar's, Ruby's, and Jamal's ears.

"We are."

『••✎••』

Cesar stormed inside of the school furiously after that. He pushed a bunch of students out of his way.

"Cesar, wait!" Jamal shouted, running behind him. Cesar punched the wall in a burst of anger. "CESAR!"

"She's doing this shit to spite me!" Cesar yelled.

"How?" Jamal asked.

"Because I didn't tell her the truth!"

"No, this has nothing to do with you. Latrelle trapped her," Jamal told him.

"How are we supposed to get her away from him now?!"

Jamal rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I swear this gets more complicated every day."

Then Cesar and Jamal saw Monse and Latrelle walking into the school, hand in hand. Monse looked at them, then quickly looked away.

"She's too scared to even look at us," Jamal stated. Cesar punched the wall again and Jamal was startled. "Stop it!"

"FUCK THIS WALL!"

Jamal sighed, having no idea what to do. Then they heard a familiar voice behind them. "Hey Jamal..."

Jamal and Cesar turned around and looked at Ruby, who was looking at them awkwardly. Jamal spoke slowly. "Hey..."

"And hey Cesar," Ruby added.

"Sup. How does it feel to be back to normal?" Cesar asked.

"It feels amazing. The attention was nice but, that's not me. Plus, with Latrelle around..." Ruby trailed off as goosebumps ran down his arms. The mere thought of Latrelle gave him chills. "....I don't want the attention," he finished.

The three of them looked down the hall at Latrelle who was doing handshakes with some guys with Monse standing loyally by his side.

"His ass needs to go," Jamal grumbled.

Ruby looked on in disgust. "Why would Monse ever want to date him?"

"She had no choice but to say yes," Cesar replied.

"Latrelle’s controlling her, that's why his ass needs to go," Jamal repeated. He looked at Ruby. "Look Ruby, there's a lot that we need to talk about including this Latrelle business."

Then the bell rung. Ruby sighed. "Yeah, we can talk later. I have to go present this stupid essay in front of the whole class. Wish me luck," he said before walking off.

Cesar watched Ruby disappear into a classroom with a faint smile. "He's not that bad."

"Yeah, I guess he is back to normal," Jamal admitted. "I'm going to tell him about the Latrelle situation, we can use his help."

"You sure that's a good idea? He just came back to his senses."

"He hates Latrelle as much as we do, he'll want to help," Jamal replied confidently.

"If that's what you want to do, do it. I'll see you later," Cesar said before walking off to class. When he got to his math class, he stopped dead in his tracks when he laid eyes on Latrelle.

"Oh, Cesar!" his teacher chirped. "I'm sorry, Latrelle asked to sit further back so I let him sit in your seat. You can sit next to him."

Cesar seethed. _Of course he did._

"Are there any other seats?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not."

" _Of course not,_ " he muttered bitterly. He begrudgingly sat next to Latrelle.

Latrelle took out a paper and pen and began writing down the notes. Cesar looked at him suspiciously. Was he really trying to pretend to do work?

"You know, that was a real bitch move you pulled," Cesar hissed.

"You better watch your mouth Santo," Latrelle warned, never taking his eyes off the board.

"I'm not watching shit! You pressured Monse into dating you!"

"I didn't force her to do shit! She said yes out of her own mouth!"

"Because you asked her out in front of the whole school! You really think that she would say no and embarrass you like that?!" Cesar argued.

Latrelle snickered. "You seem jealous, Santo."

"You think you know everything but you don't."

Latrelle smirked. "I know more than you think. Like how I knew that you and your bitch ass friend were coming to my block." Latrelle laughed. "We were ready for y'all. But what I DON'T know is....why the fuck WERE you on my block?!"

"What was in the bag, Latrelle?"

"I suggest you stay out of my business. I would hate to see your friend Jamal get hurt because of your dumb ass," Latrelle warned.

"We're not scared of you. We knocked out two of your men," Cesar said smugly.

Latrelle snorted. "Oh yeah, they're dead."

Cesar's eyes widened in horror and Latrelle noticed. "Oh don't worry, you didn't kill them."

Cesar was relieved.

"I did," he heard Latrelle finish. His eyes widened again.

"You killed two of your own?" Cesar asked in disbelief.

"They were weak so I handled them. That's what I do, _I handle shit._ So I suggest you stay away from me and Monse before I handle your ass next," Latrelle threatened.

"Like I said, you don't scare me," Cesar challenged.

Latrelle smirked at Cesar. "Wow, I'm impressed. They were right about you, you are tougher now. This should be a good war then."

"You think this shit is a game?!" Cesar asked angrily.

Latrelle leaned in closer. "I heard you were at the shootout. In the front too."

Cesar furrowed his eyebrows. "You heard? _Or you saw?_ "

Latrelle laughed. "Oh no, I wasn't there. I let them do the dirty work for me. I call the shots from behind the scenes."

"That makes you a bitch."

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH, SANTO!" Latrelle snapped.

Everyone stared at him fearfully. Latrelle rolled his eyes. "TURN THE FUCK AROUND!" he demanded.

Every student instantly turned back around. Even the teacher was too scared to say anything.

Latrelle smirked at Cesar. "Who's a bitch now?"

Cesar just rolled his eyes and did his work.

『••✎••』

The bell rang at the end of class. Everyone quickly filed out of the room, scared of Latrelle's wrath. Latrelle put his things away and looked at Cesar who was making his way to the exit.

"You asked me if I thought this was a game?" Latrelle asked. Cesar whirled around. "I do. I'm controlling all these bitches."

Cesar crossed his arms. "Even Monse?"

Latrelle avoided the question. He just swung his bag over his shoulder. "Stay out of my way, Santo."

And then he pushed past Cesar and walked out.

Cesar just stared at him angrily. He couldn't wait to get his ass out of here.


	30. LATRELLE’S WEAKNESS.

❝ _You just made yourself an enemy, Turner!_ ❞

Ruby grabbed his stuff and walked out of the history room. He had just finished presenting his essay and he did pretty well.

"Good job, Ruby!" Dave congratulated.

"Oh, thanks," Ruby replied.

Dave walked alongside him. "How you been? You know...with you not being the king anymore."

"Trust me Dave, I'm doing amazing," Ruby responded while looking in the distance. He saw Isabella at her locker. "I'll see you around, Dave." 

Ruby walked up to his girl. "Bella?"

She glanced over at him and spoke blandly. "Hey."

"Hey? Is that all I get?" Ruby said mockingly, remembering that she said that when he first met Monse.

Isabella closed her locker with a shrug. "Pretty much."

"Woah...I wasn't expecting that answer."

"What were you expecting? Me to welcome you with open arms?" she retorted.

Ruby huffed. He knew exactly why she had an attitude. "Look, I know you're upset about my ma-"

Isabella cut him off. "Upset? I'm passed upset."

"Look, I'm pissed at her too. She was totally out of line for that."

"But you let her do it anyway."

"I did not! I was on your side! I was defending you!" Ruby replied.

"Barely! She made me look like a fool, Ruby!"

"I'm just as mad as you are, trust me. My ma's just trying to make me unhappy just like she is."

"Why?"

"Because she's lonely. My dad is always busy," Ruby explained.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "That gives her no reason to disrespect me."

"I know, Bella. I won't let her do it again. I promise." Ruby kissed her cheek. "I love you."

Isabella blushed. "I love you too."

"Get a room bitches," Latrelle spat as he walked past them. Isabella froze up. Ruby was going to say something to Latrelle, but she stopped him. "Please just let him be."

Ruby stared at her intently. "Are you okay? You look terrified!"

Isabella swallowed hard. "His presence..."

Ruby held her comfortingly. "Damn. Is this how awkward it is to see your exes?"

"Just don't challenge him Ruby, promise me," she pleaded.

"I won't. I know he's crazy."

"And his girlfriend..." Isabella began.

"Monse?"

"She can't be with him...trust me."

Ruby sighed. "We know. But she's in too deep."

"Just try to get her away from him... _please_."

Ruby was confused. "I thought you hated her?"

" _Please Ruby_."

Ruby nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, I'll talk to Jamal."

Isabella smiled briefly but then looked sick all of a sudden. "I-I have to go," she said before running off to the bathroom.

"BELLA!" Ruby shouted, but she was gone.

『••✎••』

Monse walked into the lunchroom with Latrelle and his friends. When they got inside, all eyes were on them. Everyone was whispering about her and Latrelle. 

Monse swallowed hard. She was not used to all of this attention.

"I'm tired of these bitches whispering about us," Latrelle hissed.

"Punk asses," one of his friends said. The boys laughed. 

Latrelle looked at Monse who looked uncomfortable. "You good, ma?"

"Y-yeah I'm good."

"Trust me, you'll get used to the attention," Latrelle’s other friend assured her.

"I bet..." Monse replied slowly as she looked around. All eyes were still on them by the time they made it to Latrelle's claimed lunch table.

"We getting food?" Latrelle’s friend asked.

"What I look like eating that shit?" Latrelle retorted.

"Shit, I'm hungry," his friend responded with a shrug.

"We about to skip that long ass line," the other friend said.

Latrelle's friends went to the lunch line and Monse was still looking around the cafeteria. She saw Cesar, Ruby, and Jamal sitting at their usual table. Her eyes met with Cesar's and she quickly averted her gaze. 

"So, who are these friends of yours?" Monse asked Latrelle.

"Prophets," Latrelle answered.

Monse's ears perked up. "Really? There's more of you here?"

"Of course. More than you think."

Latrelle touched her hand and turned his body towards her. "You know, you can be a Prophet if you want. We allow girls."

" _Latrelle_."

He laughed at her reaction. "Yeah you're right. You should stay innocent. I like you this way."

Monse tried not to blush. God, he was so cute.

Was he really her boyfriend? Or was this an in the moment thing?

Then Latrelle’s friends came back with their trays. "This shit looks nasty!" one of them commented.

"Told you," Latrelle replied.

They started talking about stuff that Monse didn't care about. She looked back at Cesar's table and Ruby, Jamal, and Cesar were staring at her intently while Cesar spoke.

What was he saying about her and why was Ruby there? Didn't he fight Cesar?

Monse supposed it was time to find out so she stood up. "I'll be back," she told Latrelle.

"What? Where are you going?" Latrelle asked curiously.

Monse walked towards Cesar's table without answering Latrelle. Latrelle and his friends were watching her every move.

"Why the fuck is she talking to them?" one of his friends asked.

Latrelle was staring hard. "MONSE!" he called, but she ignored him. " _Okay then_."

When Monse got to Cesar's table, she heard Ruby saying, "Shut up, she's coming!"

"Ruby," she called.

Ruby looked up at her, pretending as if he was surprised to see her. "Oh! What's up Monse?"

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah of course."

Ruby carefully rose from his seat. He exchanged brief looks with Jamal and Cesar before moving away from the table.

"So what's up?"

"Did you fight Cesar?" Monse asked straightforwardly.

Ruby sighed in irritation. "You're still on this? It's old news."

"Did you?!"

"Yes Monse, last week."

"Why?"

"Because I was being an idiot," Ruby admitted.

Monse wasn't buying it.

"Look, I was upset at Cesar because I thought he was trying to steal Isabella from me...even though she wasn't even mine."

"Isabella...that girl you're always with?" Monse asked.

"Yeah...I was just acting like a tough guy. I'm done with it."

"So you guys are friends now?"

"Yeah, and you should be too. Cesar's a cool guy."

Monse rolled her eyes. "Nice talk," she said before walking away.

Ruby called after her. "MONSE!"

Monse walked back to Latrelle who was staring at her with an exasperated expression. "So you wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Are they bothering you?!" his friend demanded to know.

"No, I just asked him a question."

"What question?" Latrelle asked.

"Remember when you said that he fought Cesar? I just wanted to see if it was true," Monse answered.

Latrelle's friends laughed. "How Cesar let that little boy mess him up like that?"

"Cause he's a bitch," Latrelle remarked.

Monse was getting annoyed. "Okay, enough about Cesar."

"Yes please," Latrelle agreed. 

Then Monse's phone vibrated. She read the text. Latrelle leaned over and read the text too.

 **CESAR :** Monse, can we talk please?

Monse looked back at Cesar, noticing that he looked miserable. He mouthed, " _please_?"

"Let me answer this for you," Latrelle said while snatching her phone. He walked a little closer to Cesar.

"LATRELLE!" Monse shouted after him, ticked off that he snatched her phone.

Latrelle held up the phone so Cesar could see what he was about to do. Then he blocked Cesar's number. "THERE'S YOUR ANSWER!"

Cesar was fuming as Latrelle gave Monse her phone back.

"Let's go," Latrelle told his friends.

His friends got up and followed Latrelle towards the exit. Monse was still staring at Cesar though.

"LET’S GO MONSE!" Latrelle demanded, causing Monse to jump up and quickly run out.

"Is he serious with that shit?!" Ruby asked in disbelief.

" _Someone's insecure,_ " Jamal commented.

Cesar stayed quiet for a while as that comment resonated in his head. Latrelle _did_ seem really insecure.

"He actually likes her," Cesar realized.

"Hell no, he's controlling her!" Jamal disagreed.

"No Jamal...he looked really scared. It was as if he thought Monse was actually going to say yes," Cesar pointed out.

"Okay, let's say he does like her...why is that good?" Ruby asked.

"Because that's his weakness," Cesar said with a smirk.

Ruby looked puzzled. "I still don't get it."

"I do. If we can somehow get Monse to cut him off and come to our side, Latrelle will be a total wreck," Jamal explained.

"He'll let his guard down," Cesar affirmed.

"Okay...but how do we do that?" Ruby wondered.

Cesar sighed. "That's the hard part."

『••✎••』

After lunch, Jamal went to his locker, still thinking about their conversation. Every time they had a strategy, it always ended up circling back to getting Monse away from Latrelle. 

How in the world were they going to do that? Words alone obviously wasn't going to cut it.

Just then, Latrelle bumped into Jamal. "Watch it, Turner."

"I'm pretty sure you purposely did that," Jamal retorted.

"I sure did. And there's more where that came from if you don't stop snooping around."

"How about we make a deal?" Jamal suggested.

Latrelle objected. "If it doesn't involve money or killing Cesar, I'm not in."

"How about you give us Monse and we'll stop snooping," Jamal offered.

"I SAID I'M NOT IN!" Latrelle shouted, pushing Jamal into his locker.

Jamal usually would've been horrified, but he wasn't. Instead, he smirked. "You _do_ like her."

Latrelle got in his face. "Don't let Cesar get your ass killed."

" _Not if we kill you first,_ " Jamal spat back in a venomous whisper.

Latrelle was lowkey shook. He never knew Jamal had the balls to stand up to anybody. "You just made yourself an enemy, Turner!"

 _And you've made several,_ Jamal thought as Latrelle stormed off.

"What was that about?" Ruby asked as he approached him, seeing their entire encounter.

"Just Latrelle being Latrelle. Trying to make everyone cower in fear."

"He does scare me though," Ruby admitted.

Jamal shook his head in disagreement. "Not me. Not after last night."

Ruby's ears perked up. "What happened last night?"

"Cesar and I went to Latrelle's block, got into a car chase, knocked out two Prophets, no big deal."

Ruby's jaw dropped. "THAT'S A BIG DEAL! And why wasn't I invited?"

"We would love to have you help us. We need you."

Ruby pretended to be upset. "Hmmm. I'll have to think about it."

Jamal rolled his eyes. "You're an ass."

"Tell me everything and I might help."

Jamal told Ruby everything—from the party, to the shootout, to going to Latrelle's block.

"And he had this bag. We're still trying to figure out what was in it," Jamal finished. Ruby was silent. "Are you even listening?"

But Ruby wasn't listening. He was too busy looking down the hall.

Jamal turned around and saw Latrelle talking to Isabella. Isabella looked terrified.

Jamal huffed. "Here we go again, in 3...2...1."

Right on cue, Ruby scurried over to them. Latrelle looked at him and laughed.

"Ruby, don't!" Isabella warned.

"Yeah little man," Latrelle taunted.

"Did he hurt you, Bella?!" Ruby asked Isabella.

"No..."

Latrelle was offended. "Hurt her? What kind of man do you think I am?"

"A piece of shi—" Ruby almost finished the sentence but Isabella covered his mouth.

"Please just go, Latrelle," Isabella pleaded.

"Yeah I think I will before someone gets hurt for real. It was nice catching up with you, _Bella_ ," Latrelle said with a smirk. Then he walked away.

Jamal walked up to them.

Isabella uncovered Ruby's mouth. "What was that?! I told you not to challenge him!" 

"Why was he talking to you?!"

"He was just catching up," Isabella told him.

" _Catching up my ass,_ " Jamal muttered under his breath.

"What Jamal said!" Ruby agreed. "Weren't you the one that told me to make sure that Monse stays away from him?!"

"Yes but—"

"There are no buts, Isabella! He is a piece of shit who thinks he runs this school!" Ruby argued.

"I agree with Ruby. No good comes from being near Latrelle," Jamal chimed in.

Isabella defended herself. "I'm not his friend. He came up to _me_. I can't just tell him to go away."

"Uh, why the fuck not? He's your ex!" Then Ruby paused. "Oh my god, you still like him."

"What?! No Ruby!"

"Then—"

"Ruby, let it go! Don't challenge him! You don't want to become his enemy, trust me!" Isabella warned before she left.

"Too late for that," Jamal grumbled.

Ruby had a puzzled look on his face as he watched Isabella walk off. "Am I missing something? How the fuck does Latrelle keep controlling these girls?"

Jamal shrugged. "He's Latrelle. The ladies swoon over him."

Ruby gave Jamal the side eye. "Well not my lady."

"Then help us take him down."

Ruby nodded. He'd had enough of Latrelle. It was time for his ass to go.

"Count me in." 


	31. PROPHETS FOREVER.

❝ _Then we'll just have to play dirtier._ ❞

It was the end of the school day and Monse rushed out of her math class feeling like a celebrity. She'd been asked nonstop questions about her relationship with Latrelle.

It _was_ a real relationship, right? 

Monse still wasn't sure, but she figured that it must be if Latrelle got so triggered that he blocked Cesar's number on her phone. 

Thinking about that, she took out her phone and looked down at Cesar's number thoughtfully. She wasn't sure if she should unblock him. Maybe if she just heard him out, he would leave her alone.

"Monse," Ruby called as he walked up to her.

Monse looked up from her phone. Her eyes lit up when she saw Ruby. She missed him! "Oh hey Ruby!"

"Who you texting? Latrelle?"

Monse shook her head as she put her phone away. "I wasn't texting anyone." 

"Well look." Ruby paused and spoke seriously. "I know you've heard this 100 times, but-"

Monse instantly cut him off. "Stop, Ruby. I already know what you're about to say."

"You do?"

"Latrelle is dangerous. Blah blah blah."

"Monse, we're telling you this for a reason! Something's not right with Latrelle! Even Isabella wants me to warn you!" Ruby told her.

"Your girlfriend? His _ex_?" Monse laughed hard. "Yeah right, she hates me."

"She does," Ruby confirmed and Monse rolled her eyes. " _No offense._ But Isabella wants me to warn you about him! That must mean something! She dated him, so if she says that he's dangerous, I would believe her!"

Monse let out an exasperated sigh. "Latrelle shows me nothing but respect."

"Yeah, taking your phone and blocking Cesar's number was _very_ respectful," Ruby said sarcastically.

Monse swallowed hard. That _was_ pretty uncalled for.

She looked down the hall and saw Cesar at his locker. Maybe she should hear him out?

She looked back at Ruby. "Fine. I'll talk to Cesar."

Ruby grinned. "Really?"

"Yup. Right now," Monse said before walking up to Cesar. Ruby followed.

"Hey," Monse said when she was inches away from Cesar.

Cesar turned around, shocked. Then he gave her a warm smile. "Monse, hey. How are you?"

"Cut the chit chat, Cesar. I'm here to let you explain yourself."

"Okay...where do I start?" Cesar asked.

"Are you in the gang?" Monse questioned.

Cesar looked at Ruby for help. Ruby looked down at the floor, wanting no part in this.

Cesar had no idea if he should tell her or not. Jamal said he shouldn't, but he had to, right? She deserved honesty.

" _Yes_."

"Nice talk," is all Monse said before she turned on her heels.

"WAIT!" Cesar grabbed her arm. "Come on, that's not fair! Latrelle's in a gang but you're dating him!"

Monse rolled her eyes with a huff. As much as she wanted to walk away from him right now, she knew that he had a point. " _Fine_. What about this shootout stuff? You said Latrelle was there."

Cesar shrugged. "I don't think he was now. But either way, he planned it."

"How do you know?!"

"Because he told me!" Cesar revealed. "He's not as innocent as you think!"

Monse crossed her arms. "Latrelle told me that there's going to be a war. Why can't you guys just get along?!"

"I'm sorry, but that's never going to happen," Cesar answered honestly. Monse sucked her teeth.

"But maybe you _two_ can get along?" Ruby chimed in as he pointed at them both. Monse and Cesar exchanged a quick look. 

"Fine," Monse said unexpectedly.

Cesar couldn't hide the exhilarated look on his face. "For real?!"

"Yup. As long as you promise not to hurt Latrelle."

Cesar rolled his eyes. "Here we go."

"I'm serious, Cesar. I care about him."

"And I care about YOU!" Cesar shouted, causing Monse to stare at him bewilderedly, shocked that he said that.

Ruby fanned himself awkwardly. " _It's getting a little hot in here...._ "

"SHUT UP!" Cesar and Monse spat at him simultaneously.

Then a brown skinned boy walked up to them. "Yo, Ruby! I miss you being the king, man!"

Ruby furrowed his eyebrows at the boy, not quite sure who he was. "Um, do I know you?"

"No, but I know _you_. I was at the party," the boy said.

"Oh...well I'm done with that king shit," Ruby informed him. He pointed at Cesar. "We're cool now."

"That's dope, but man I was your biggest fan! And that speech you gave really touched me!" the boy continued.

Monse's interest was piqued. "Speech? The speech I missed?"

"Oh man, you missed it? It was inspiring!" the boy exclaimed.

"Okay, _enough_. Not now dude," Ruby said through gritted teeth, not wanting Monse to know what his speech was about.

Monse disagreed. "No, I wanna hear. Tell me all about this speech."

"Ruby was just so grateful to be alive! I was shocked when I heard that Cesar almost shot him! And Jamal was ready to take the bullet for Ruby! It was crazy!" the boy explained before looking at Cesar with a huge smirk on his face. 

"Dude, really?!" Cesar hissed.

Monse was horrified. "Excuse me, **WHAT**?!" She pushed Cesar away from herself. "You almost shot Ruby?!"

"Monse, it's not what you think!" Cesar assured her.

"YOU’RE A MONSTER!" she shouted.

Ruby tried to calm her down. "Monse chill, it's old news!"

"NO! You guys sit here and constantly tell me that Latrelle's a monster, but the real monster is CESAR!" Monse yelled, her hateful words piercing through Cesar. She yelled so loud that every student was now looking their way.

"Monse, it's not like that!" Ruby tried to tell her.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Latrelle demanded to know as he approached them.

Monse was so glad to see him. She gripped his arm and spoke gravely. "Latrelle..."

"Yes, baby?"

"Get me out of here," Monse pleaded.

Latrelle nodded and held her hand. "Let's get away from these goofballs." He shot Cesar and Ruby a condescending look before they walked away.

The brown skinned boy snickered. "Oops...did I fuck everything up?"

"Why the fuck are you smirking?!" Ruby asked angrily.

The boy held out his fists. He had two rings on, each that said P and $. Then he ran off in the same direction as Latrelle. 

Cesar looked alarmed. "He's a Prophet? Of course he's a fucking Prophet!"

Ruby shook his head angrily. "Come on. We gotta tell Jamal."

They ran outside of the school and saw Jamal standing on the steps. 

"Jamal!" Ruby called.

"I see them," Jamal said, knowing exactly what he was about to say. He fixated on Monse and Latrelle as they walked off in the distance. Ruby and Cesar looked too.

"I worked things out with Monse," Cesar informed Jamal as he stood next to him.

"Really?"

"Until Latrelle got one of his Prophets to tell Monse about my speech," Ruby finished for Cesar. "Specifically about Cesar almost shooting me."

Cesar scoffed. "Yeah, he made sure not to leave that part out all right."

Jamal was still fixated on the new couple as he said his next words. "So Latrelle likes to play dirty, huh?"

"He sure does. He's always one step ahead of us," Cesar replied angrily. 

Ruby abruptly chuckled, puzzling the two boys. "What?"

Ruby just smirked and said, "Then we'll just have to play dirtier."

『••✎••』

Monse was walking home with Latrelle. She was honestly so disgusted with Cesar. She was actually willing to give him a chance, but he blew it.

Monse was so tired of Cesar's bullshit. She was tired of his SECRETS! Oh yeah, he had a _lot_ of those. So she couldn't help but wonder what else was he hiding?

Latrelle's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Baby, you wanna tell me what happened back there?"

"It's Cesar. It’s _always_ Cesar."

"Dude is a clown," Latrelle commented.

"Did you know that he almost shot Ruby?" Monse asked.

Latrelle put a fake surprised look on his face and shook his head. "Na, I didn't know anything about that."

"Well he did." Monse huffed. "I can't believe it. He's a monster."

"Well you don't have to worry about his ass anymore. I blocked him for you."

"Yeah, thanks for that. He's nothing but bad vibes," Monse said with a sigh. "To think that I was actually going to forgive him." She scoffed.

Latrelle glared at her. "Wait, what?"

_Shit, she shouldn't have said that!_

"You were going to forgive who? Better not be Cesar."

Monse bit her lip nervously. "It was..."

"After I blocked him?! Really, Monse?!" Latrelle scolded.

"Why did you block him anyway? You said that you wouldn't stop me from being his friend," Monse questioned.

Latrelle stayed tight lipped as he shrugged. "I changed my mind."

"Um, why?"

"You said it yourself, he's a monster. Do you really want to be near someone like that?"

"Not really," Monse answered.

"Good. So keep him blocked. You'll thank me later."

Monse glanced over at Latrelle, ready to ask the question that's been nagging her all day. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, beautiful."

"Is this real?" she asked.

"What?"

"Us. Are we really together? Or is this just an image thing?" Monse elaborated.

Latrelle was offended. "You really think that I would use you like that?"

Monse shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised. I've been let down a lot ever since I got here."

Latrelle shook his head disappointedly. "Wow, man. Cesar really is getting inside of your head."

"He's not. I'm just making sure because...I want this to be real."

"You do?"

"Ever since the moment I saw you," Monse confessed. "I don't know what it was, but there was just an automatic connection."

"Like on some soulmate type shit," Latrelle said with a laugh.

"Yeah, exactly."

"I know what you mean. I felt it too and that's why we're together right now. So yeah, this is real," he told her.

Monse smiled. That was all she wanted.

"I gave you those rings, that's how you know that this is real. Ask Isabella, I ain't never give her no rings. Shit, you're the first girl I gave those to."

Monse's jaw dropped. "Seriously?” She blushed. “That's really sweet, Latrelle." 

Then they arrived at her house. Latrelle grabbed her hands and stared into her eyes. "I really like you, Monse. And people like Cesar are starting to realize that. Don't let them get into your head."

"I never will," she promised.

"Good," he said before leaning in to kiss her.

Monse froze up. Was he really about to kiss her?!

Latrelle was leaning in towards her mouth, but kissed her on the cheek instead. Monse was slightly disappointed.

Latrelle noticed her disappointed expression and chuckled. "Not yet. I want it to be special," he said softly, which made Monse blush harder.

He _did_ like her.

"You should head inside before your dad gets pissed again," Latrelle suggested.

Monse rolled her eyes. "I really don't care about his opinion or anyone else's anymore."

"And why is that?"

Monse went into her bag and took out a box. It was the box that held the rings that Latrelle gave her.

Latrelle looked surprised. "You carry those around?"

"I do, but I just keep it in my bag, waiting for the right moment to wear them, but...." She trailed off and put the rings on. "I think every moment is the right moment."

Latrelle grinned. "So does this mean that you're on our side?"

And Monse nodded and said the three devastating words, "Always. Prophets forever." 


End file.
